Photography
Peter Burke
Louise Lavarack
Triage
Triage pays respect to the demise of an illegally poisoned plane tree on the corner of Elizabeth and Therry Streets in
the City of Melbourne. Fellow artist Louise Lavarack swathed the tree in cotton wool and gauze bandages, transforming
the site into a ghostly roadside memorial. I supervised the accumulation of floral tributes and messages of sympathy around the trunk and held conversations with passersby.
Over three months, the public were invited to write tribute notes and pin them to the tree. During this time several other activities took place including two tree hugging events and a candlelit vigil.
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Commissioned by the City of Melbourne.
In collaboration with Louise Lavarack.
Therry and Elizabeth Street,
Melbourne, Australia
July—September 2013
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Triage
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Tree Hug Blitz (Melbourne)
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In this durational piece 200 trees in Melbourne's urban forest were hugged over eight hours on National Tree Day in 2013.
In collaboration with Louise Lavarack.
Melbourne CBD, Australia
13 August 2013
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Tree Hug Blitz (Shanghai)
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In this piece I embraced the trees in Shanghai's city centre and old town.
Shanghai, China
19 September 2013
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