My inspiration for this piece is the famous artwork ‘Forest Fire’ containing a delectable palate of colours, this artwork was created in 1849 by the artist ‘Raden Saleh’. Born in Semarang, he trained and worked in Europe with high-class and royal society. I was inspired by this painting as it uses an intricate palate containing all the key elements to a catastrophe. From the tears in the ox’s eyes, the fierce glint of a hunter in the tiger’s claws and the panic in the animals, it is a beautiful representation of a true forest fire.

I utilised the number three in my painting to represent the 3 million acres of land burnt in the biggest forest fire in history. My painting represents all the life that has been lost in forest fires, all of the family's destroyed and all of the land in tarnish, that are shown through the large, towering, burnt plank of wood in the centre of the painting. Yet, life will always find a way to prevail, being represented by the small, yet powerful dandelion with its eye-catching yellow colour that grasps your attention, sprouting out of the ground, creating a compelling metaphor. The dark, blood red background represents death, suffering and pain. It represents the devastating arrival of the flames and the struggle to escape, linking back to how the animals react to the fire in the painting.