Nov. 14 — An unconventional conservation initiative spearheaded by Kirsha Kaechele, the artist and curator affiliated with Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), is using pay-per-view adult videos filmed inside Tasmanian sawmills and woodlands to finance the protection of ancient old-growth forests, The Guardian reported on Friday.
Launched under the provocative moniker OnlyFerns, the digital portal channels subscription revenues directly toward compensating timber workers for halting logging operations. Instead of felling ancient trees, forestry workers are paid to construct wooden boardwalks and permanent public art installations designed to preserve fragile ecosystems.
Kaechele—spouse of MONA founder David Walsh—covered the full production costs for the films, which were accompanied by a documentary and a companion book. During production shoots, local forestry workers served as location crew, guiding performers wearing elaborate animal costumes into remote woodland sites.
Defending the unconventional funding mechanism, Kaechele argued that mainstream environmental activism routinely alienates rural workforces. “Ensuring that zero work hours are lost is critical to the project’s success,” she told The Guardian. “Most environmental campaigns create an us-versus-them dynamic that leaves workers unprotected. That isn’t realistic, it breeds resentment, and it is unseemly.”
Roughly 20 content creators from the platform OnlyFans flew into Burnie on Tasmania’s northwest coast to participate in the project, mirroring recent collaborations between adult performers and climate advocacy filmmakers. Last week, cast members—including Melbourne-based performer Kelly Panther—walked the red carpet in Melbourne for an invite-only, 18-plus screening of the feature-length production, styled after the cult television series Twin Peaks.
State-owned forestry enterprise Sustainable Timber Tasmania acknowledged ongoing discussions with MONA regarding forest stewardship goals. While noting it remains bound by its statutory commercial charter, the agency praised Kaechele’s initiative for bringing diverse stakeholders together to foster dialogue around timber production and conservation.
However, the project has drawn sharp condemnation from leading environmental advocacy organizations, which accuse the initiative of legitimizing destructive industry practices.
The Wilderness Society, which withdrew in July from the Forest Congress Kaechele convened in 2023 to unite scientists, Palawa Indigenous elders, conservationists, and industry representatives, stated that timber corporations had taken “zero steps to reform their poor commercial and industrial practices.”
Similarly, the Bob Brown Foundation—which boycotted the congress from its inception—dismissed OnlyFerns as a “pro-logging scheme.” The foundation warned that industry definitions of “old-growth” cover merely 3 to 4 percent of forests, leaving the remaining 96 percent of native woodlands and wildlife exposed to clear-felling and burning. “Ending this tragedy is not performance art,” the group stated. “In an era of unprecedented environmental destruction, this represents a grave challenge for Tasmania and Australia.”
Kaechele countered that targeting undisputed old-growth tracts builds consensus where economic alternatives have previously failed. Having moved at age five from California’s Topanga Canyon to Guam, she described her approach as “radical diplomacy”—engaging directly with private sawmill operators to ensure conservation efforts do not devastate local livelihoods.
Source: The Guardian & Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) Dispatches, Hobart