My Interpretation

'Flame'

I find the image ‘Southern Cross – to bear and behold – Burning’ to be a highly captivating and strong piece of work, both visually and conceptually. Jill Orr is able to portray her ideas regarding environmental issues so clearly and still show a strong sense of individualism over the work though it was collaboration with a photographer. Within the image, Orr becomes the director and performer as she dominates the Australian landscape. 

The scene depicts Orr interrupting a cold baron wasteland with her trail of footsteps and saturated cloud of fire. It is clear Orr is making a comment on the environment by the use of the elements and the immediate reaction caused by the fire and ice. The eye is directly drawn to the intense burst of flames. The warm hues of yellow, orange and red create a burnt texture which reciprocates as high contrast against the white, grey and black background. Jill Orr, though she is not overly large in scale within the frame, still remains as a dominant figure carving a path of queer destruction. She appears to be looking towards the viewer but half her face is shrouded by the intensity of the fire, therefore drawing even more attention to the overbearing presence of the element. 

The photograph appears in a landscape orientation and becomes her own distorted undesirable place because, from what I see, some of her face appears proud or even intimidating. What enticed me to this photograph were the textures and gradients, allowing the viewer to trust that the ground really is a shadowy substance and the fire really is a small yet powerful omen. I believe that the combination of the two elements serve as characters within Orr’s play, reiterating her feelings within the title ‘to bear and behold’. The lake and human figure of Orr bears the weight of the fire whilst the onlooker can’t help but to behold, to constantly observe such a dynamic scene.