Where the river flows, life grows.
Art Pharmacy is proud to have installed two public art pieces at Charter Hall’s Flagstone Logistics Estate in QLD. Jane Cavanough’s sculptural collaborations with Adrina Khobane and Kylie Hill thoughtfully examine the Logan River’s nourishing nature and communities that have thrived along its banks. Together, they celebrate the river’s life-giving bounty, respecting the rich cultural heritage of North Maclean, QLD, Australia.
Jane and Adrina’s steel triptych, Shifting Reflections, imitates the element of water, thoughtfully considering the estate’s proximity to the Logan River. Jane’s second collaboration with Kylie Hill culminates in a piece titled Journey Lines. The steel wall panel pays homage to the First Nations people whose lives were deeply intertwined with the bountiful water source.
The Art Narrative: ‘An Abundant Legacy’
Art Pharmacy curated a narrative centralising the Logan River, paying close attention to its role as a vital life-giving source. Its embrace and nourishment of the lush surrounding ecosystem were of great importance. This maternal cultivation is testified by the abundance of fish, wallabies, native plants, and vibrant community camps sustained by the river for millennia. The commissioned artworks were intended to explore the river’s capacity to nurture both body and spirit. Specifically, the piece speaks to the river’s motion, which has supported daily rhythms of life for generations.
The art narrative also sought to weave in the layered tapestry of First Nations heritage, specifically the Yuggera and Ugurapul clans that have inhabited the land, alongside the enduring legacy of colonial history. The artwork at Charter Hall’s Flagstone Logistics Estate was to become a living testament to the river’s legacy and the Estate’sir commitment to sustainability. The project articulates the company’s vision for a future where environmental stewardship and cultural preservation go hand in hand. To this end, Art Pharmacy commissioned diverse local artists with a profound interest in nature’s intersection with cultural heritage.
The Artwork: Shifting Reflections
Jane Cavanough and Adrina Khobane’s collaboration, Shifting Reflections, is comprised of three curving steel, coolamon-shaped sculptures. The Corten steel triptych utilises unique patterns that mimic the delicate reflections of water. Their composition celebrates the beauty and lifeblood of the Logan River, exploring the harmony between nature, human connection, and creativity.
Shifting Reflections’ materiality reflects Charter Hall’s commitment to public art and sustainability, requiring minimal intervention thanks to a naturally forming patina. This protective layer develops over the years through cycles of rain and sunshine. Jane’s approach to materiality has made the works essentially self-maintaining, lasting for many decades.
The Artwork: Journey Lines
Jane and Kylie Hill collaborated on a second steel sculpture for the property, a wall panel titled Journey Lines. The repeating dot form represents watchful ancestors, recognising community meeting places along the Logan River. The quadrangle composition references strength and balance. Journey Lines also utilises a natural patina over time, serving as an enduring placemaking marker celebrating First Nations cultures and stories.
The Artists
Jane Cavanough is a Sydney-based artist commissioned for this project, specialising in site-specific public art. Her practice blends classic and contemporary design, resulting in artworks that engage with urban, architectural, and landscape settings. Jane’s emphasis on the intended location’s environmental and cultural narratives made her an ideal choice at Flagstone Logistics Estate.
Adrina Khobane is an indigenous artist known for her sculptural steel work that incorporates biophilic design. Her practice pays particular attention to conveying the motion of natural elements through static material. One may recognise her design on the totems flanking the entrance of the Taronga Zoo.
Kylie Hill is a First Nations designer and artist deeply connected to her traditional heritage and kinship ties. Her practice shares stories of culture, love, and personal experience from the Kalkadoon people of Mount Isa, the Waanyi people from the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the Quandamooka people of north Stradbroke Island. Her husband is a traditional elder of the Yagara/Yugara nation. Through him, Kylie has gained permission to paint Yagara cultural stories, which she brings to Journey Lines.
Location and Community Impact
The site of Charter Hall’s Flagstone Logistics Estate has a rich First Nations history. The Logan River provided an essential source of life for the daily existence of the Yuggera and Ugurapul Aboriginal peoples and broader Danggan Balun (Five Rivers) people. It provided fresh water, a place for bathing, and a natural setting for communal gatherings. Jane and Adrina’s work pays powerful homage to this sentiment in Shifting Reflections, reminding viewers as they enter the Flagstone estate of the nourishing quality of the adjacent river.
The area is rich in resources, providing honey, fish, native plants, kangaroos, and wallabies. Being the site of many social gatherings, ceremonies, and trade with neighbouring groups, it also produced cultural nourishment. One may imagine the storytelling, song, dance and art that flowed from the area, deeply inspired by the landscape. While Shifting Reflections explores the landscape, Journey Lines takes an anthropological interest in communal cultural practices within nature.
Art Pharmacy is deeply proud to have installed these works at the site’s entrance. The location of the public art serves to keep nature and cultural heritage at the forefront of the mind whilst entering the Charter Hall Flagstone Estate.
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Special thanks to Jane Cavanough, Adrina Khobane, Kylie Hill, and Charter Hall’s Flagstone Logistics Estate for making this project possible.
Article by Tabitha Noel Curry