Fred WilliamsBurnt Landscape II (Bushfire Series) 1970

This is one of a series inspired by bush fires that regularly ravaged the land close to Williams’s house at Upwey. The resulting paintings ranged from representations of the scorched earth and trees, to images of the new life encouraged and released by the fire. The crusty black surface of Burnt Landscape II directly evokes the physical experience of the landscape. Its title is also bitterly ironic, as this painting is one of the few that survived a fire at thewarehouse where Williams stored his works.