VITAL - Tamara Dean in Southeast Australia

The eucalyptus forests of southeast Australia are some of the most carbon-dense ecosystems on Earth. However, increasingly dry conditions have made the region highly susceptible to fire. During the devastating 2019-2020 bushfires, megafires tore through eucalyptus stands, destroying critical wildlife habitats.

Photographer Tamara Dean, who experienced these fires near her home in Cambewarra Mountain, captures a unique view of these vulnerable landscapes. Her distinctive process involves submerging giant, printed backdrops in her backyard pool studio and then photographing subjects submerged underwater, layering dramatic forest imagery to create scenes where people appear immersed in the forest. The result is a powerful reflection on humanity's place within nature.

Read Tamara Dean's Artist Statement about this story

_{“Irrecoverable carbon” refers to the vast stores of carbon in nature that are vulnerable to release from human activity and, if lost, could not be restored by 2050 — when the world must reach net-zero emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Learn more about this critical research.}

A child hovers impossibly above a river in the ancient blue gum forest of the Blue Mountains. The painterly landscape is reminiscent of artworks by early Australian colonial artists. I carefully chose and styled the young girl for her contemporary appearance in order to challenge the romanticised tradition in which our environment is seen.

Blue Mountains, New South Wales | On the Ngurra (Country) of the Gundungurra and Dharug Traditional Owners

My mother, once furled up child, now wizened elder, my portal into this infinite universe. The edges between her body and the landscape are blurred and undefined. As though in a dreamscape, she is both separate and part of the landscape.

Blue Mountains, New South Wales | On the Ngurra (Country) of the Gundungurra and Dharug Traditional Owners

My mother curled up in the fetal position shoots like a comet through the ancient blue gum forest, bathed in morning light.

Blue Mountains, New South Wales | On the Ngurra (Country) of the Gundungurra and Dharug Traditional Owners

In a sunken landscape, symbolically referencing rising sea levels and the floods we are experiencing globally as a result of our changed climate; the figure, my daughter Ruby, gently manoeuvres through a landscape of ancient ferns.

Dandenong Ranges, Victoria | Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation

Being in the ancient forests of East Gippsland I was struck by how dwarfed I felt compared to the trees and plants I found myself surrounded by. And how young I am, how young we all are in contrast to those ancient trees and forests. I wanted to create an image which showed humanity as micro, to challenge our own sense of scale, to depict the human as one species in a sensitive ecosystem, on a living planet.

The land referred to as 'East Gippsland' is country that spans three indigenous nations, these are the nations of Bidewell, Yuin, Gunnaikurnai and Monero (Ngarigo).

Fearlessly the young woman appears to have burst through the atmosphere as she follows the path of the falling water. When I dream, this is how I imagine flying, moving effortlessly through the landscape, soaring like a bird.

Fitzroy Falls | Morton National Park is the traditional Country of the Yuin people

The landscape offers up a pregnant figure, a reference to mother nature.

Fitzroy Falls | Morton National Park is the traditional Country of the Yuin people

In 2019-2020 bushfires burned through extensive areas of southeast Australia including Mongo National Park. Fear and anxiety defined that summer for Australians, then trauma followed. It was shocking to witness the destruction, but also restorative to be in nature and to see the areas which are regenerating.

Monga National Park | Country of the Yuin and Walbunja people