Projects

BARLOW STREET FOREST

scrub collective

2020, Barlow St, Sydney

A biodiverse micro-forest in the heart of the city

Barlow Street Forest is one of a series of projects realised by the Dirt Witches, a cross-disciplinary community of environmental and climate activists. Inspired by the microforest movement, this artwork with local and international actions to establish faligns ast growing, dense and biodiverse plantings. Complex ecosystems and nature conservation are key to meeting climate goals.

This tiny forest is made up of a wide variety of local species to mimic the layers of an endemic ecosystem in the middle of our urban environment. The installation incorporates plants belonging to the critically endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub and coastal swamp forests that once existed in inner and eastern Sydney. It serves as a poetic reminder of the 5,300 hectares of scrub that once stretched between Botany Bay and North Head.

The forest was first created in 2020 as one of four temporary artworks that aimed to re-activate the city during the Covid pandemic. It became a permanent feature of the City of Sydney in 2023. The intiative aligns with the international science based micro-forest movement to establish plantings that are fast growing, dense and biodiverse. The creation of these ecosystems are key to meeting climate goals.

REQUIEM FOR BUSHFIRES

Jan 2021, Paddington Reservoir

Festival of Sydney

“we need to make our landscapes sacred again”

‘Bush Requiem’ is a cross-disciplinary program of art, talks and performances that lament the loss of native ecologies during the 2020 bushfire crisis. Curated by acclaimed Australian artist Janet Laurence, ‘Bush Requiem’ brings together poets, visual artists, scientists and environmental advocates to retrieve the memory of this loss and open up the opportunity to share knowledge for the future. Held within the ethereal inner chamber of the Paddington Reservoir, the program foregrounds an aesthetics of care and healing through installations involving water, living plants, ceramics, participatory drawing and footage from the bushfires. Amongst these, transformative musical performances, poetry and panel discussions by the Sydney Environment Institute and Groundswell will cultivate a renewed engagement with nature.

Laurence explains, “I believe we need to make our landscape sacred again; we need to re-enchant it. The bushfires have amplified the specificity of this landscape that we live within. We need to enter into it deeply through knowledge sharing between scientists, artists and Indigenous peoples. … Part of my vision is that the space will not be used as a neutral space but will be entered into as a sacred space that cultivates a renewed engagement with nature.”

This project collectively creates an immersive environment and a memorial space that is contemporary in its acknowledgment of the fragility and transience of our existence and of our total interconnection with the living world. It offers viewers opportunities to listen and share stories and make informed choices around pathways towards regeneration and preservation. Laurence concludes, “I hope this project enables ritual and requiem that helps us access this knowledge and love of this landscape.”

Buy a Tee

I VOTE FOR THE TREES

Making our vote count

Political action is crucial and urgent. We wish for a government that cares about environment and climate change and continue to lobby for meaningful political responses from politicians and the electorate.

Dirt Witches collaborated with artist Tom Polo and fashion label Romance Was Born to produce beautiful cotton tee shirts, scavenged from manufacturer’s cast-offs. All profits go to forest protection across NSW