FIREWALL

Stephenson Cave | Undara Volcanic National Park | Queensland | Australia

Firewall | Scott Bennett | 2010 | Pastel on paper | 100 x 80 cm | Private collection

This ancient tree guards the entrance to the Stephenson lava tube. It is centuries old and survives here because it is protected from the fires that sweep the savannah above. It clings to the rock and is so closely intertwined that they appear as one in places.

The image represents a very wide angle of view vertically, from the base of the tree to almost straight up. The different environmental conditions, from the moist lower regions to the dry air above, where the branches twist towards the light, is made apparent by a marked change in colour. This natural transition from cool to warm acts to disrupt the conventions of perspective where the warmest colours appear closest to the observer.