TORNADOES

'Tornado 14', pencil on black paper, 297 mm H x 209 mm W
'Gone IV', pencil on black paper, 2009 mm H x 297 mm W

Death is a force, eventually nothing can halt that moment. When I was around death, it was a noisy worrying time, and then the moment is silent and strangely calm.

It reminded me of tornadoes, such an unstoppable force of nature, a turbulence that can’t be halted and you can’t avoid, strangely calm in the centre, chaotic before and after.

'Tornado 11', pencil on black paper, 244 mm H x 170 mm W
'Tornado 4', pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W
'Tornado 10', pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W
'Tornado 20', pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W
'Tornado 6', pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W
'Tornado 21', Watercolour on gesso panel, 261 mm H x 260 mm W
'Tornado 1', pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W
'Tornado 13', pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W
'Tornado 2', pencil on black paper, 170mm H x 244 mm W
'Tornado 17', pencil on black paper, 2009 mm H x 297 mm W
'Tornado 9', pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W
'Tornado 22', watercolour on gesso, 260 mm H x 270 mm W
'Gone III', pencil on black paper, 209mm H x 297mm W
'Gone I', pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W
Gone II, pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W

The Australian Government’s Bureau of Meteorology describes tornadoes as follows:

Tornadoes mostly occur on the trailing side of supercells. Heavy rain and hail may arrive before the tornado, but once the storm’s main updraught is overhead, an eerie calm may accompany the tornado’s approach. The tornado itself produces a violent wind that begins and ends quickly. It will last from several seconds to at most a few minutes and be accompanied by a variety of sounds caused by the damage to buildings, trees, etc.

If the sound is irregular it is likely the result of damage occurring nearby. A separate source of a roaring sound that originates in the sky or toward the main storm cloud may be caused by the large hailstones hitting the ground or colliding in mid-air (known as ‘hail roar’). After the passage of the tornado, some light rain or hail can occur, along with cooler winds, before clearing takes place.

Bureau of Meteorology, Australian Government

  1. Tornado 6, pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W

  2. Tornado 14, pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W

  3. Gone II, pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W

  4. Tornado 5, pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W

  5. Tornado 11, pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244mm W

  6. Tornado 4, pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W

  7. Tornado 10, pencil on black paper, 244 mm H x 170 mm W

  8. Tornado 20, pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W

  9. Tornado 6, pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W

  10. Tornado 21, watercolour, gouache on gesso panel, 261 mm H x 260 mm W

  11. Tornado 1, pencil on black paper, 244 mm H x 170 mm W

  12. Tornado 13, pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244 mm W

  13. Tornado 2, pencil on black paper, 244 mm H x 170 mm W

  14. Tornado 17, pencil on black paper, 297 mm H x 207 mm W

  15. Tornado 9, pencil on black paper, 170 mm H x 244mm W

  16. Tornado 22, watercolour, gouache on gesso panel, 260 mm H x 270 mm W

  17. Tornado 19, pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W

  18. Gone I, pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W

  19. Gone II, pencil on black paper, 209 mm H x 297 mm W

Image credits: Photography B McConchie

T - B and L - R