Controlled Burn
Far from an untouched wilderness the Australian landscape is in reality an ancient cultivated garden continually restructured across time by traditional aboriginal practises of mosaic burning. In an ecosystem that requires bushfires to regenerate contemporary conservation practises has denied these patterns in favour of ‘natural’ regeneration. On the bare ground of a recently abandoned mine site Ho Lun, of our Engineered Natures Laboratory, has installed a set of highly reflective super white fire starting instruments. On specific days of the year the devices unfurl to focus the sun and ignite an intricate pattern of controlled burns. The mine landscape is painted with swathes of colour, restructuring the biotype with seasonal hues of ash and wildflowers. The white fire machines stand as mysterious totems within the colour, engineering an unnatural landscape, in an unnatural land.