A collaborative exhibition by artist Kylie Stevens and historian Margaret Cook

Flood Lines is a powerful multi-modal exhibition that brings together the creative vision of artist Kylie Stevens and the deep research of historian Margaret Cook. Through community stories, historical documents, photography, and painting, the exhibition explores Ipswich’s complex relationship with floodwaters and its changing climate.

Stevens and Cook invite audiences to reimagine the city’s flood history by tracing the watery paths of the Urarrar/Bremer River, its floodplains, ghost creeks, and the hidden stories beneath the streets of Ipswich. Motivated by a shared commitment to public knowledge, the duo sheds light on the river’s past and future, making the flood hazard visible – and visceral.

The project has been enriched through consultation with Ugarapul Elder Uncle Kevin Anderson, who shared cultural and linguistic insights into the river known as Urarrar in the Ugarapul language. These conversations have deeply informed Stevens’ new body of work.

Stevens’ pieces layer historical maps with water collected during the 2022 floods, infused directly into her paint and glaze. Copper leaf symbolises the energy and movement of the river, while local ochres and limestone bring a tactile sense of place to the work.

Cook, author of A River with a City Problem, has spent over eight years researching floods in the region. For this exhibition, she contributes historical research and curatorial writing, including artwork labels and titles that illuminate the relationship between the artworks and the environments they reflect.

Flood Lines is a conversation across disciplines and time – an invitation to engage with the river’s legacy and the challenges of our climate future.