2024 Forest Collapse

2024 Forest Collapse is a series that confronts the onset of the documented ecological collapse that occured in West Australia. It marked a profound ecological threshold, as widespread canopy loss reshaped entire landscapes under the compounded pressures of climate change, prolonged heatwaves, water extraction, groundwater depletion, and altered fire regimes.

March 2024 became a month of visible unraveling, trees flared into brilliant oranges and deep reds, not as seasonal transformation, but as signs of hydraulic failure and systemic stress. Reduced rainfall, declining water tables, soil degradation, and cumulative land clearing intensified their vulnerability, exposing the interdependence between forest health and water security.

The artist surveyed and documented affected sites as the collapse unfolded, creating a living archive of witness. The work reflects on the fragility that underpins even the most monumental forms, revealing how extraction and excess reverberate through ecosystems compromising resilience, diminishing biodiversity, and unsettling the deep-time legacy of Australia’s forests.