Bush fire Brandalism, subvertising takeover on the streets of Australia, 2020

The streets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have become the backdrop for the nation’s largest unsanctioned outdoor art exhibition #BushfireBrandalism, as forty-one artists took over advertisement outlets with their own messages aimed to bring much-needed attention and awareness to the recent severe drought and perishing bush fires.

A total of seventy-eight advertising posters have been replaced with bespoke thought-provoking images and messages. Speaking to the current climate crisis seen via devastating drought and unprecedented bush fires, this undertaking is a direct reaction to the feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness experienced nationwide in recent weeks. 

Artists involved included, Georgia Hill, Tom Gerrard, Sarah McCloskey, Amok Island, Andrew J Steel, Blends, Callum Preston, Cam Scale, Damien Mitchell, Dani Hair, DVATE, E.L.K, Ed Whitfield, FIKARIS, Fintan Magee, HEESCO, JESWRI, Ghostpatrol, Leans, Lluis fuzzhound, Lotte Smith, Lucy Lucy, Makatron, Michael Langenegger, Peter Breen, The Workers Art Collective, Stanislava Pinchuk, The Lazy Edwin, Thomas Bell, Tom Civil, WordPlay Studio, Peter Breen and some who wished to remain anonymous.

“As a collective group of Australian artists, we have been driven to reclaim public advertising space with posters speaking to the Australian government’s inaction on climate change and the devastating bushfires. We do not accept that this situation is ‘business as usual’. We are making these issues visible in our public spaces and in our media; areas monopolized by entities maintaining conservative climate denial agendas. If the newspapers won’t print the story, we will!”

check out more of the posters…

Original designs focus on a range of subjects including the fossil fuel industry, the bravery of the local firefighters and the destruction of the country’s unique flora and fauna. With their combined 700,000 social media following, these artists hope to raise awareness of the underlying causes of this abnormal fire season and the actions needed to prevent and control it in the future. The work installed on local bus stops and similar advertising spaces promotes relevant information as well as direct contact to over 30 charities combating the issue via a QR code.   

Beyond the Bushfires, the intervention speaks more broadly to the use of conventional advertising space in Australia. With one entity controlling 59% of all daily newspaper sales, the artists question the position of the media landscape in Australia and its coverage of issues concerning climate change.

Thanks to the many participating artists and creative professionals who chose to remain anonymous, 20 volunteers, MilkBar Print, Brandalism UK , Bill Posters, Sasha Bogojev, Ian Cox, KGB Crew, Public Access, Nicole Reed, Luke Shirlaw, Jordan Seiler, After Midnight Film Co, Everfresh Crew, The Culprit Club, The Peep Tempel, Wing Sing Records, Waste, Adam Scarf, NCCP, Gabby Dadgostar, James Straker, Partier Bresson and Charlotte Pyatt

*Please note that this campaign has no affiliation with *marketing agency ‘Brandalism Australia’ This is an independent action coordinated by Australian artists and creative professionals**

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