A person in a sun hat and blue backpack stands at a bus stop, facing a yellow poster. The illustration shows a crying, personified landmass surrounded by flames with the headline “LISTEN TO YOUR HOME”.

Australian creative activist group Bushfire Brandalism replaces ads with protest posters

41 creatives have taken down 78 adverts around Australia and put up their own guerrilla campaigns demanding better government action after the devastating fires and drought.

Words: Jenny Brewer
—
Date: 4 February 2020
Tags: News
Art
Poster
Activism

Over the weekend, a group of 41 artists, illustrators and graphic designers in Australia organised a multi-city brandalism campaign in reaction to the devastating bush fires and drought. Self-penned “the nation’s largest unsanctioned art campaign,” Bushfire Brandalism saw its artists take down 78 advertising posters at bus stops around the cities in an act of protest, and replace them with images and messages pertaining to the country’s disasters, and their feelings of “hopelessness and powerlessness” around the government’s response.

“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,” the group says in a statement. “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 monopolised by entities maintaining conservative climate denial agendas. If the newspapers won’t print the story, we will!”

The latter part of the statement relates to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which dominates the media landscape in Australia, owning a large proportion of newspaper titles in the country.

The posters depict the country’s suffering wildlife, celebrate its firefighters, parody its political figures and demand government action regarding the climate crisis, aiming to drum up further public response to put pressure on the powers that be. QR codes on the posters link to bushfire-related charities of each artist’s choice.

The posters were installed by members of the activist group in broad daylight, wearing high vis vests, yet – as is the case with many similar guerrilla campaigns – only a few still remain in place.

Artists include 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 and Peter Breen.

GalleryBushfire Brandalism

A poster featuring a close-up of dark green foliage and orange flowers. Centred white text reads “LAND IS MEMORY”. Smaller text at the bottom reads “FUND THE FRONT LINE. FIGHT FOR INDIGENOUS FIRE MANAGEMENT.” followed by a credit to Stanislava Pinchuk for #BushfireBrandalism and a QR code. — Above
Left
Stanislava Pinchuk
Right
Lotte Smith

An illustration on a black background featuring stylised figures planting greenery. Bold yellow text at the top reads “THE LAND HELPS US AND WE MUST HELP THE LAND”. At the bottom, white text reads “Support Bush Regeneration.” followed by the hashtag “#BushfireBrandalism”. — Above
Lotte Smith

An illustration within a black circular border featuring people embracing in a supportive huddle. Surrounding them is a chaotic landscape of fire, smoke and figures in distress. The border contains the text “How do we formalise & expand upon the beautiful solidarity that we see during natural disasters”. — Above
Left
Workers Art Collective
Right
Wordplay Studio

A bold typographic poster with white text on a black background reads “SELL THE WATER DRY THE LAND WATCH IT BURN BLAME DROUGHT.” Smaller text below explains that the Australian Government continues to sell water to corporations despite the continent being the driest inhabited on earth. — Above
Wordplay Studio

An illustration of a crowd of people with bright orange and yellow flames rising behind them. Red text at the top reads “Donate to our brave firefighters today.” followed by a social media handle and the hashtag “#BushfireBrandalism”. — Above
Left
Tom Gerrard
Right
Thomas Bell

An illustration of Australia in orange and brown, with jagged black flames licking the top edge. The map contains the text “HOW’S THE SERENITY?” in bold, white letters. Below the image, a caption reads “Let’s turn the heat down Australia.” and includes a handle and hashtag for #BushfireBrandalism. — Above
Thomas Bell

An illustration of the Australian continent engulfed in yellow and orange flames. Stylised white text across the top reads “AUSTRALIA IS ON FIRE”, while a koala holds a sign that reads “FIRE FIRE FIRE”. Below the main image, a call to action reads “Help save our wildlife today.” followed by a social media handle and a QR code. — Above
Left
Leans
Right
Jeswri

A black and white illustration of a platypus floating upside down in dark water. In the background, a large white sun shines over a forest engulfed in flames. Text at the bottom reads “We need help. We need shelter. We need a better government.” — Above
Jeswri

An illustration of a small, white koala sitting curled up inside a thin, colourful circle. Below the figure, handwritten text reads “NEED TO FEEL SAFE”. — Above
Left
Ghostpatrol
Right
Fuzzhound

An illustration of a sad, orange, blob-like figure holding a piece of coal. Bold text above reads “SAY NO to COAL”, with the word “COAL” appearing as burning embers. To the right, further text reads “GIVE IT UP!”. — Above
Fuzzhound

A black and white illustration of a figure in a black balaclava lounging on a sofa, holding a bowl of snacks. They look towards a television screen, with a small plant on a side table nearby. Below the main scene, four small panels show a pair of eyes, a laptop, a brick wall with a missing brick, and a single brick. Text at the bottom reads “Let’s tell our government to tell it like it is.” and encourages viewers to write to their MP regarding the “#BushfireBrandalism” crisis. — Above
Left
Fikaris
Right
Dani Hair

A collage of yellow, blue and black patterns featuring bees, leaves and honeycombs. Text at the bottom reads “5,000 hives and millions of bees have been burnt in the fires this season across NSW. Buy Australian honey, assist beekeepers.” and “#BushfireBrandalism”. — Above
Dani Hair

A chocolate koala figure is partially melted, with a pool of liquid caramel spreading beneath it. Text at the bottom reads “SAVE AN AUSSIE ICON” and “#BUSHFIREBRANDALISM” next to a QR code. — Above
Left
Anonymous

A typographic poster featuring large, textured lettering that reads “Well Well Well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own INACTIONS”. The letters are filled with blurred, earthy-toned imagery. Smaller black text at the bottom reads “SUPPORT ACTION, NOT INACTION.” and includes a handle and hashtag for “BushfireBrandalism” alongside a QR code.

A bus stop poster features a stylised, colourful portrait of a person with the words “CLIMATE DENIAL” written across their forehead. Text at the bottom reads “Our government won’t act on climate change, but we can.” — Above
Anonymous. Photo by Adam Scarf.

Hero Header

Poster by Callum Preston. Photo by Adam Scarf.

Further Info

See more of the campaign by following #BushfireBrandalism on Twitter and Instagram

About the Author

Jenny Brewer

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Jenny oversees editorial output across It’s Nice That. Get in touch with writing pitches for features or opinion pieces, big creative story tips, or questions about all things editorial. [email protected]

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