New Exhibition Burnt Into Memory Opens In June
In the summer of 2019–2020, communities across Australia experienced some of the worst bushfires in living memory: the Black Summer bushfires. The impact of these devastating events was catastrophic for individuals and communities alike. The Hawkesbury Local Government Area (LGA) was tragically the epicentre of what is now recorded as the largest bushfire in Australia’s history—the Gospers Mountain fire. Burning across an extraordinary area from Hawkesbury to Lithgow, the Hunter Valley, the Lower Hunter, Cudgegong, the Blue Mountains, and the Central Coast, it scorched over 126 million acres of land.
This June, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery presents a major exhibition three years in the making. Burnt into Memory explores the profound and complex effects of these fires on individuals and communities. Focused on stories of reflection, healing, resilience, and renewal, the exhibition brings together a powerful collection of creative expressions that examine personal experiences of the fires, community trauma and recovery, the politicisation of climate science, the importance of caring for Country, and the enduring beauty of the natural environment.
Featuring works by 14 artists living and working within and beyond the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains region, Burnt into Memory includes artworks created both in the immediate aftermath of the fires and more recent responses.
Photographic works by artists such as Freya Jobbins and Katherine Boland will be shown alongside large sculptural pieces by Wona Bae and Charlie Lawler, dynamic works on paper from Jody Graham and Gary Shinfield, and immersive paintings from Laura Jones and Dharug woman Leanne Tobin, among others.
The exhibition will also showcase Hawkesbury City Council’s newly commissioned film Dancing with the Devil. Funded through the Black Summer Bushfire Recovery Grants Program and produced by award-winning film journalists Sarah Allely and Bill Code (Wedgetail Pictures), the film navigates the impact of the Gospers Mountain fire on local communities. Compassionate, humorous, and filled with hope, Dancing with the Devil provides a vital platform for local storytelling.
Since 2022, Hawkesbury City Council’s Arts and Culture team has worked closely with Allely and Code, engaging with community members from Bilpin, Colo Heights, St Albans, and Mount Victoria to better understand their experiences, record oral histories, and archive their stories through film. The documentary was recently shared with these communities in a series of local screenings in late 2024 and early 2025, and forms a core component of Burnt into Memory.
Extending beyond the walls of the gallery, Burnt into Memory will also feature a specially designed school education program for Stage 3 students (Years 5 – 6), developed in partnership with the Black Dog Institute. Designed with the Hawkesbury community in mind, the program focuses on healing through creativity and can be delivered both within the exhibition space and independently by the Gallery’s art educators.
Burnt into Memory opens to the public at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery from Saturday 7 June to Sunday 17 August 2025. A community opening event will be held on Friday 6 June from 6–8 pm. Full details of the public programs accompanying the exhibition will be announced in early May.
Image: Freya Jobbins, Breath series #4, 2019, digital photograph, courtesy the artist.
https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/_resources/media-releases/2025/april/new-exhibition-burnt-into-memory-opens-in-june