Conjola

Date2020

Object number00055836

NamePoster

Mediumink on paper

DimensionsOverall: 815 × 609 mm
Overall (image): 714 × 502 mm

ClassificationsPosters and postcards

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionPoster by David Pope titled 'Conjola' featuring an illustration of a beachside lake framed by a blackened tree showing new shoots. Lake Conjola was one of the many South Coast tourist towns hit hard in the 2019-2020 bushfires. The fire approached the town very quickly, forcing residents and tourists to find safety by waiting on the beach. The community was isolated for eight days at the height of the crisis. This poster is part of a series called 'Coast Is Calling’ that were created by David Pope to raise funds for bushfire recovery via the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal. HistoryThese posters were published in March 2020 as part of a tourism campaign in the newspapers of Australian Community Media (ACM). Prints, posters and postcards based on these designs were sold to raise funds for the long-term bushfire recovery effort on the South Coast of New South Wales. The style Pope uses references traditional early 20th century tourism posters but subtle differences are noticeable. Each image, with black tinges, show the scars of the bushfires that ravaged the region in the summer of 2019 - 2020. Burnt landscapes and solitary native wildlife remind us that that these beloved destinations and places of natural wonders are vulnerable to climate destruction and desperately need ongoing support from a wider community to recover and regenerate. SignificanceThis series of posters by David Pope represent an organisational and community response to a major bushfire event and to the Covid-19 pandemic that followed shortly after.

These events had a dramatic impact on the Australian psyche and physically, on the landscapes and communities from the summer of 2019 to 2020.