Pink Ink: Out of the fire. . .

Seasons come and go, time moves forward and brings with it change. . .

In January 2003, Bernard Hardy (a talented Canberra artist) and his family lost their family home, studio and storage area when the Canberra bushfire ripped through the Weston Creek area; taking with it over 40 years of his own art, the artwork he acquired over the years and his mothers art that she had given him.

One day the surroundings he called home were green and full of life and the next day only burnt ash remained of his house and memories.

It was this changed landscape that inspired Bernard to see that it was bigger than just his house and his loss. Everyone was affected and had a story.

Bernard began photographing surrounding areas like Mount Stromlo. He painted and took photos of the area. He recorded the disaster and found new inspiration through the devastation.

As an artist, Bernard believes that what we see is the result of a variety of lenses. As people we are always looking through a lens. A camera has a lens and captures what that lens sees through a photo, then our eyes (two lenses) examine and interpret.

No one person will ever see things exactly the same and that is the beauty of viewing and interpreting art. And the same idea can be applied to the rest of life.

Even technology is a lens. A new way of connecting and representing through a computer screen to reach people and share inspiration.

Bernard even relates this idea back to fashion. . . Through fashion, new ideas are shown on the catwalk, the audience sees the idea through the construction of cloth, just like art uses a variety of media to tell the story. Different media (fabrics) create different mental feelings.

Bernard found hope through the loss and while his past art may be gone (with the exception of a few) his future works will tell a different story.