An interactive exhibition profiling the memory of Queensland's 2011 floods and cyclone has hit the road to tour 60 regional centres in Queensland.
A vast collection of contemporary digital media and historical articles from the State Library collection have been compiled for the State Library of Queensland's (SLQ) exhibition Floodlines: a living memory.
Curators of the exhibition collaborated with number of organisations to create an interactive showcase of the stories before during and after as told by the community members themselves, local storytellers and the media.
Executive Manager of Learning and Participation with the SLQ Linda Pitt says one of the exciting features of the exhibition is the interactive flood mapping, which allows users to assess the levels of flooding across suburbs of Brisbane, and towns devastated by Cyclone Yasi, Cardwell, Tully and Ingham using a smart phone device.
The SLQ have worked closely with a company specialising in technology called 'augmented reality mapping' - to develop an interactive reflection of the affected centres before, during and after the disaster events. Users can scroll through the timeline to see suburbs of Brisbane, and various regional towns at different stages of the flood.
Ms Pitt says although the focus has been on the Brisbane River when the exhibition was on display at the State Library, the touring exhibition includes more developed mapping data to include towns affected by the widespread flood event.
"We think that it's a Queensland first to develop augmented reflections. This takes the existing map and terrain data from the 2010/2011 flooding to simulate the flooding in [selected] areas."
"People will be able to bring their personal devices (smart phone, or smart tablet device) - download the free 'floodlines' app from the app store and use that to reflect on the flooding in their suburb or town."
Curators from the State Library also collaborated with ABC Open for their 'Wall of Stories' feature of the Floodlines: a living memory exhibition, which featured content created by ABC Open producers for the Aftermath project.
Ms Pitt says it was important to draw on the wealth of knowledge and skill in the community for the exhibition to make it authentic.
The exhibition also draws on the collective memory of Queenslanders by way of a photo contribution to the Flood and Cyclone Mosaic.
The artwork was conceptualized by digital artist Jason Nelson and the State Library team, but is being built by the cameras of Queenslanders.
"A lot of people took photographs of their neighbourhood, and so we've used that as a platform to capture some of those stories," Ms Pitt says.
She says people who visit the travelling exhibition or view it online are welcome to contribute photos to the mosaic.
"We didn't want to delve into any sort of disaster porn images, but to really look at the stories on the ground and the people who have shared their very intimate moments with us.
"It's about community spirit, and the exhibition is to learn, understand and empathise."
"This is a snapshot of the Queensland story, and we want to make it about the people and about communities," she says.
After being on display at the State Library of Queensland for 5 months, Floodlines has hit the road and will tour the following regional centres in Queensland.
2012
Gordon White Library 2 October - 2 November
Moranbah Library 14 - 27 November
Clermont Library 30 November - 13 December
2013
Middlemount Library 25 January - 7 February
Dysart Library 12 - 22 February
CityLibraries Aitkenvale 9 - 19 March
Hinchinbrook Shire Library, Ingham - 28 March - 10 April
Cardwell Library 19 - 27 April
Dorothy Jones Library Tully 1 - 13 May
Kuranda Library 24 May - 5 June
Mareeba Library 11 - 22 June
Atherton Library 27 June - 8 July
Malanda Library 13 - 24 July
Ravenshoe Library 1 - 10 August
Herberton Library 19 - 23 August
Dimbulah Library 29 August
Chillagoe Library 3 September
Croydon Library 20 September - 2 October
Normanton Library 18 - 29 October
Karumba Library 2 - 12 November
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3.10.12
