Fiona Lee
Artist Bio
Fiona is multi-disciplinary artist and climate justice activist working across non-violent direct action, sculpture, installation, photography, and video. After losing her home to bushfires in November 2019, Fiona undertook a 12-month Bushfire Affected Artist residency at The Creator Incubator (TCI) in Newcastle. It was there that Fiona shaped unapologetic, political, and provocative works from her home’s scorched remnants that spoke to both her personal loss and the impact of climate change on us all. Fiona had a solo exhibition ‘Carbon Tax’ in March 2021 at TCI and is currently working towards another solo show ‘Unpreparable’ at Maitland Regional Art Gallery in October-November 2021.
When artist and climate justice activist Fiona Lee lost her family home near Taree to a fire storm of bushfires in Nov 2019, Fiona knew the fires were a result of extreme weather events. In response to Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack's remark on ABC radio at the time that linking climate change to the ongoing bushfire crisis was “the ravings of some pure, enlightened and woke capital city greenies” Fiona sought to call out the statement. Days later Fiona and her family arrived on the steps of the NSW parliament armed with a bucket full of ash from what was left of their home and demanded government acknowledge the link between the unprecedented fire storms, resulting devastation and climate change.
In the months after losing her home Fiona began shaping works from her home’s scorched remnants; collecting, categorising, and sorting through ash and detritus from where her family home once stood to reposition in the gallery space a firsthand comment on her personal loss and the impact of climate change on us all.
