Floodlines | Your memory of Queensland floods

Flood and Cyclone mosaic to Regional Queensland

Posted on 03 Dec 2012| by Fe Skoufa |

Floodlines: a living memory is now on display at Clermont Library, Herschel St, Clermont Qld until Thursday 13 December. As part of the exhibition the Flood and Cyclone mosaic is now available on a touch screen interface where local communities can view images uploaded to the mosaic. If Queenslanders have photos from the 2010/2011 floods and Cyclones they can still upload their photos on the State Library of Queensland mosaic website at the link provided http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/floodlines/mosaic

The Flood and Cyclone mosaic will be updated during the Floodlines regional tour mid next year, so upload your photos to add to this significant natural event that occured in 2010/11 and is now part of Queensland’s ongoing Memory.

Flood and Cyclone mosaic at Clermont Library

Clermont Library have also added their own local flood photos to add to the Floodlines travelling exhibition whilst on display at their library. This is a great way for locals to feel part of the whole exhibition and participate in our collective history.

Flood photos from Isaac Region - Clermont

Next stop for the Floodlines exhibition in the Isaac Region is at Middlemount Library from 17 December 2012 until 7 February 2013.

Floodlines moves north

Posted on 27 Sep 2012| by Fe Skoufa |

Seventy people, including contributors to SLQ’s Flood and Cyclone Mosaic and the Local Disaster Management Group, attended the Mackay City Library launch of the Floodlines travelling exhibition on Tuesday 11 September. As the exhibition tours through regional Queensland visitors can still upload their flood and cyclone photos from 2010/2011 to the Flood and Cyclone Mosaic. http://mosaic.slq.qld.gov.au/upload/

Floodlines Digital stories at Mackay City Library

Augmented Reality of North Queensland

The exhibition coincided with a photographic exhibition at the library, 150 Years of Resilience: Mackay’s Natural Disasters.

Launch of the Mackay Natural Disasters Exhibition

To add value to Floodlines as it travels to Far North Queensland, Cardwell, Tully and Ingham, augmented reality maps of these areas were added to the Floodlines App in consultation with locals. The updated app now incorporates 3D virtual maps of these towns before and after Cyclone Yasi. Floodlines is at Mackay City Library until Saturday (29 September) before moving on to Gordon White Library from 3 October to 2 November.

Floodlines app updated to include Cardwell, Tully and Ingham

Posted on 21 Sep 2012| by Fe Skoufa |

Recently the Floodlines app was updated to include towns devastated by Cyclone Yasi, Cardwell, Tully and Ingham. The Floodlines travelling exhibition will be visiting all three of these towns which will show local community residents the before and after impact of the Cyclone from 2011 that hit their town.

: The after affects of Cyclone Yasi on the town of Cardwell

The new markers have been uploaded to the Floodlines website http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/floodlines/exhibitions/memory#app so you can down load an Augmented Reality (AR) marker card and experience the effects of Cyclone Yasi.

The exhibition is currently on display at Mackay City Library, Civic Precinct, Gordon St, Mackay until 29 September, a full itinerary of the travelling exhibition can be located at http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/events/travel

Visit the Children’s Corner to add some colour to your day!

Posted on 17 Jun 2012| by Margaux Creagh |

As a visitor to the Floodlines exhibition, one of the most prominent, colourful and visually pleasing features I came across was the Children’s Corner, situated at the back of the gallery. This space, which represents a river-scape, is where children are invited to share their experiences and perceptions of the 2010/2011 floods. The wall is awash with drawings and cut outs depicting a multitude of flood related imagery. As expected, some of these images are reflect negative aspects of the flooding but others reflect a positive outlook. I really enjoyed seeing these colourful creations, and definitely recommend a visit to the Children’s Corner in the Floodlines gallery at SLQ – it will brighten your day!

Floodlines Celebrates Queensland Week!

Posted on 01 Jun 2012| by Margaux Creagh |

With Queensland Week tomorrow, what better way to celebrate our state’s separation from NSW than focusing on some of the history which makes Queenslanders unique? The three major flood events which devastated Queensland from 1893 right up until 2011, have helped to shape our state and has given Queenslanders a reputation as courageous, resilient, tough individuals, who are able to learn from the past in order to move forward.

Helen Gregory, renowned Queensland historian and curator of SLQ’s exhibition Floodlines, believes the floods helped Queenslanders learn how to stand strong in the face of disaster. She said, “Brisbane’s floods in the nineteenth century were certainly devastating events which affected thousands of people very badly, damaged infrastructure, and ruined businesses. Recovery, however, was characterised by the extraordinary resilience Queenslanders again demonstrated in the aftermath of floods and cyclones in 2011.”

Mrs Gregory maintains that Queenslanders should remember and respect the tragedy, but also honour the resilience, courage and generosity, all amply demonstrated during and after Brisbane’s nineteenth century floods.

The Floodlines exhibition – which shares contemporary and historical memories of the Queenslandfloods, and celebrates the spirit of recovery – will be hosting guided tours on the 2^nd and 5^th of June at SLQ in honour ofQueensland week. Tours conclude with a curator’s talk by Helen Gregory.

For more information see slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on

Learning from the past to build a new future

Posted on 22 May 2012| by Margaux Creagh |

The 2010/2011 Queensland floods saw the devastation and destruction of many homes, businesses and other buildings throughout Brisbane, and the entire state. However, in true Queensland spirit, these disasters also brought out an innovative and creative spirit in many of our architects, some of whom are shifting their key focus to designing for disasters.

James Davidson of Emergency Architects Australia (EAA) was part of a large volunteer movement which conducted a flood assessment program following the most recent QLD floods, aimed to give practical advice and guidance to assist in post-flood reconstruction. Davidson believes that because of where we live, all Queenslanders should consider the importance of flood-proof architecture, although he doesn’t feel that this means changing our homes entirely “It seems incongruous to request that people who have already experienced economic hardship to spend more money raising their houses to an arbitrary height that won’t guarantee they withstand the next flood event,” Davidson said.

“Having coordinated EAA’s flood relief project in addition to the many flood renovation projects I have completed in private practice since, the best option for homeowners is to design for resilience in choosing appropriate construction systems and material selections that will withstand flooding. Flooding doesn’t have to be a disaster,” Davidson stated.

Davidson will be presenting more of his ideas at the Asia Pacific Design Library Lecture Series, hosted by Floodlines at the State Library of Queensland on the 29th of May. The free event will hear from a variety of speakers regarding the concept of creating a flood proof home. Bookings are required – slq.eventbrite.com or 3840 7768

Sound gives fresh take on QLD floods

Posted on 08 May 2012| by Jason Beaumont |

Art comes in many forms – painting, photography, sculpture, installations and much more. And it’s not limited to visual forms. The Floodlines exhibition at SLQ showcases a unique response to the floods in the form of a soundscape – a collection of sounds gathered and compiled by soundscape artist Lawrence English.

Listening to soundscape

Lawrence collected sounds (both natural and man-made) from all over Queensland for over a month during the 2010/2011 floods. He also spent time recording the Brisbane river from different locations, in order to get a sense of how it flowed and moved. “The motion of water was something I became very interested in as it takes on a quite musical sound,” Lawrence said.

The sounds used in the exhibition were chosen because the artist felt that they accurately portrayed the enormity of the effect of the floods, not just in Brisbane, but of Queensland as a whole. “I feel it’s important to realise that we fit into something bigger than the idea of metropolitan life,” Lawrence said. “The division of metro or regional for example is meaningless when it comes to Mother Nature, and I think there is a beauty in that”.

The Floodlines soundscape can be experienced at the SLQ gallery, and Lawrence English – along with other contemporary artists – will share the fascinating concept behind his work at a free artist talk on Wednesday the 9^th of May on level 2.

Bookings required slq.eventbrite.com or 07 3840 7768.

Mosaic artwork tells of impact

Posted on 03 Apr 2012| by Steve Scamp |

Floodlines Art 1

What I’ve found most amazing, most heart-breaking, heart-warming, and always intriguing is exploring the images submitted by the public. These are their views and more importantly their visions of how the water born disasters impacted their lives and communities. There are images of debris piles punctuate by a dirty toy bear or couches playfully placed in deep water, a place to sit on a flooded street. Some of the photographs show people at their best, helping neighbours and rescuing the stranded, while others highlight the power of Queensland’s weather and implications to our built and natural environments.

Floodlines Art 2

Floodlines Art 3

This is an artwork conceptualized by myself, Lubi Thomas and the State Library team, but with a soul built by the cameras of Queenslanders.

Floodlines Art 4

Floodlines Art 5

The hard part, as an artist, was to find a way to incorporate these images into a dynamic and interactive artwork, and yet not distracting from the images themselves. The mosaic artwork does this by continuously generating mosaics, allowing the user to explore, find new images and continue navigating, forever exploring the connections between these Queensland visions. And the result is an artwork that tells a story, or rather a near infinite series of stories, tales of recovery, loss and dare I say, hope, which with every click form and reform, like the weather itself.

- Written by Jason Nelson, Artist

Floodlines launch and Augmented Reflections app

Posted on 03 Apr 2012| by Steve Scamp |

The launch of Floodlines is drawing closer and as a member of the exhibition team I can confirm that we are all pretty excited and nervous about revealing it to the Queensland public. Although it feels like 2010/2011 summer floods were just a couple of months ago (sadly some towns are still being affected by flooding) it has been a long time coming for the exhibitions team.

Augmented Reflections ipod

It felt nothing short of surreal as I helped assemble the lighting fixtures in the SLQ gallery. I reflected over the many months our team has worked tirelessly on gathering, sorting, and organising this exhibition. I have learnt a great deal about designing a high tech exhibition in a not-so-high-tech gallery space. I love slq Gallery but, like all exhibition spaces, there are always minor challenges that impact on each exhibition, and influencing curatorial and design decisions. The real challenge is not to let technical and power requirements control and determine exhibition design.

With a total of 6 projections, 9 touch screens and 10 free-roaming iPads there are a number of technical and power issues that could affect how the gallery was presented. As the exhibition had so many technical requirements it seemed almost impossible for the space to be presented without cords lying around and heath and safety officers shaking their heads at us. With extensive research and equipment-testing we came up with a solution that not only works with all of our technical equipment but leaves our gallery as a trip-hazard free zone!

Augmented Reflections 3D

Our next major focus was how to present an Augmented Reality (AR) app developed by Josephmark called Floodlines: Augmented Reflections. Augmented Reflection is for iPhone and iPad devices, and uses flood map data to provide you with new 3D perspectives of the Brisbane River and surrounding suburbs and the rising waters during the devastating Brisbane floods of 2010/11.

Using cutting edge augmented reality technology the app allows you to see the flood waters rise from 2D to new 3D aerial perspectives, and simulates the flooding across the Brisbane CBD and 13 surrounding areas. The app extends exhibition visitors’ understanding of the power of technology to visualise and share information.

People are seeing augmented reality applications implemented by major institutions such as the TATE in London, the Venice Biennale, and New York’s MOMA, so we were thrilled to bring this app to Queensland audiences – not only as platform for interaction, sharing and learning, but as a digital artwork in its own right.

We want this exhibition to reach as many Queenslanders as possible. If you can’t come to the physical space you can access the Floodlines: Augmented Reflections markers through our website. To download the app, print the marker and start to experience the floods in a digital 3d version.

- Written by Brittney Ouston, staff member

Pre-launch thoughts

Posted on 01 Apr 2012| by Steve Scamp |

Flood and Cyclone Mosaic

3 days until the opening of Floodlines and it’s a mix of nervousness and excitement as the last of the works are being hung in the Philip Bacon Heritage Gallery, the tech is being tested is the slq gallery and the last of the vinyl is being put up!

Floodlines started as a conversation on Level 4 in February 2011 whilst slq was still shut for repairs after the floods and around the state – areas were still being inundated. The journey started by uncovering – with Helen Gregory – the forgotten history of floods in the 1800’s and the first image of the Victoria Bridge crashing into the Brisbane River blew me away. It also made us think that images just like this one must be in Queenslanders personal collections and that we have to do something in order to capture these stories.

This journey – Floodlines – has humbled me as I continue to hear of the most heroic stories, meet some of the people who touched so many lives, collaborate with very talented digital artists and curators including Jason Nelson and Lubi Thomas and work with JosephMark on what would seem to be an Australian first – Augmented Reflections!

What we knew early on in the piece was that we wanted this exhibition to be about the people, the stories of the people – highlighting the strength of communities – as sometimes that is all that is left standing! Which is where the foundations of the Flood and Cyclone Mosaic project came from – a space for people to share their memories and be connected across Queensland through image.

The questions we continued to ask ourselves when curating the show:

How do we make sense of the information, data, the stories?
How do we provide opportunities for story telling?
How do we represent the experience of the people – most having experienced this through technology – emails, tweets, texts, photo and the way it maintained a human connection.

These mediums matter – this is our history in 100 years time. We currently treasure and keep diaries, hand-written letters and physical objects and we need to make sure that we keep our born-digital connections and collections because they will tell our stories.

Floodlines is an acknowledgement of the uniqueness of living in Queensland and that for many, it has changed their world. We go through natural events – if you are in St George – 3 floods in 2 years! For some people in Queensland this is a regular occurrence. We Queenslanders seem to have this incredible capacity for resilience – its very inspiring. Where do people pull their resilience from? This exhibition explores this – the people and their capacity to rebuild and recover.

I hope that exhibition is one of those that people come and take the time to listen, to share and to reflect on what it means to live in Queensland and also be inspired by our community, the ideas we have, and the technology that allows us to see our events through a new lens (an augmented reality one in fact!)

I would also like the thank to Department of Communities and Department of Health for their ongoing guidance and support in developing this exhibition.

- Written by Linda Pitt, staff member