‘Stories of Giants’ is a creative recovery project documenting the impacts of the June 9, 2021 storms in the Dandenong Ranges. Emma Jennings has painted a series of portraits of impacted residents and volunteers using timber salvaged from the storm. These trees lay over houses, cars, gardens, roads and schools. Salvaged by volunteers from Treasuring our Trees and Rescue Logs and prepared by Monbulk Men's Shed.
To everyone involved, thank you.
These are powerful examples of how communities support each other in emergencies and how Climate Change natural disasters must be taken seriously.
I can't express enough my gratitude to these wonderful people who allowed me to tell their stories. Despite being personally impacted with damage to their own properties, they have all volunteered tirelessly to support our community and this project.
This work was shown at the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum in 2024 and the Cardinia Cultural Centre in 2025.
Thank you to Sanford Tong, Rob Carew, Garry Sommerfeld and Andrew Curtis for the following images:
I would like to respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the custodians of the beautiful land, forests and animals where this work has taken place, and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.
We are excited to be able to share traditional Cultural traditions in this project, and do so with the utmost respect and gratitude.
This project has been partly funded by a Yarra Ranges Council Communities Arts and Heritage Grant
