Explosive Forming is an exhibition illustrating and investigating the complex interplay between industry, ecology, and geology. Artist Nicholas Burridge takes its starting point from the local Footscray Munitions Factories, a site adject the Incinerator Gallery. The conceptual foundation for this project is metaphoric, drawing a parallel between the mark left by a bullet or bomb and the mark left on a landscape by industrial manufacturing. Both are examples of energy transfer—they leave a mark that radiates from an epicentre.

Adapting bullet casing manufacturing techniques traditionally used in the munitions industry, Nicholas has developed a unique process that forms brass utilising gunpowder. The force of the exploding gunpowder pushes the brass sheet into a hemispherical mold. As time passes and the copper and sulphur react, processes of oxidisation, growth, and corrosion become evident. This chemical aftermath mimics the heavy metals and chemicals remnant and still reacting within the landscape after the munitions industry has since left.