Renowned Quandamooka artist, Delvene Cockatoo-Collins and Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL) have today celebrated a significant new artwork at the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal.
Set along 600 metres of panels, From Land to Sea (2024) is a sequence of plant images and natural phenomena that derive from the transition through local landscapes that are typical of the rivers and waterways near the Port of Brisbane and across South-East Queensland.
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins described the landscape reflected in From Land to Sea.
“From the Cotton Tree or Tawalpin, to the mangrove landscape, to the sand that you see when the high tide recedes to low tide and then down to the water lines which is both the shallow and deep water,” said Ms Cockatoo-Collins.
“From Land to Sea is the largest scale work I’ve ever done.
“It’s a really significant piece and I’m so proud to see it here and the impact that it will have for visitors and the community here.”
PBPL CEO, Neil Stephens, said the Port was immensely proud of the artwork which was delivered as part of PBPL’s ‘Innovate’ Reconciliation Action Plan, its second RAP.
“We are delighted and privileged to partner again with Delvene, who we have worked with for many years. Delvene also delivered the artwork for our ‘Reflect’ Reconciliation Action Plan, on display in our Port Office,” said Mr Stephens.
“Through this work, we sought to celebrate First Nations artwork while also creating a sense of arrival and destination, for the hundreds of thousands of passengers who travel through the cruise terminal every year.
“On behalf of PBPL and everyone involved, I extend our greatest thanks to Delvene and look forward to working together well into the future.”
Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd operates on the lands, seas and waters of the Quandamooka, Turrbal and Yuggera People. PBPL acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands, seas and waters across Australia. We honour the wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present and embrace future generations.
From Land to Sea joins the sculpture, ‘chiggil chiggil pa’ (2020) by Acclaimed Brisbane-based Waanyi artist, Judy Watson. It is a four-metre rusted steel dilly bag prominently situated in the arrival zone of the cruise terminal. The work references woven nets and bags used by Aboriginal people of the Brisbane area, acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the site and their everyday fishing activities on the river and local saltwater waterways.
PBPL worked closely with Onespace to commission and project manage the delivery of both artworks.
Watch a video that celebrates From Land to Sea here.
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins
Delvene Cockatoo-Collins lives on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), and belongs to Quandamooka Country, home of the Nunukul, Ngugi and Goenpul people. Through the mediums of clay, local pigments, printmaking, and weaving, Delvene’s arts practice explores stories of her family's lived experiences on Minjerribah and responds to representations of images and objects of Quandamooka.
From Land to Sea, 2024
From Land to Sea is a sequence of plant images and natural phenomena that derive from the transition through local landscapes that are typical of the rivers and waterways near the Port of Brisbane and across South-East Queensland.
These landscape elements include the Tawalpin (Cotton Tree) and mangrove forests, and sand lines created as the tide recedes to the waterline in the Brisbane River and then finally flows out through to Moreton Bay. The colour hues transition from shades of green, to shades of yellow, and then finally blues.
The shift in the landscape is symbolised by individual leaf patterns – including the cotton tree or tawalpin, located with the ‘Equatorial Forest’ section of green and lighter greens and then to the mangrove leaves in greens and bronze. From high tide to low tide on the intertidal zones - sand lines are indicated through the yellows and then passing into the blues of the rivers and waterways.