An Afternoon Low Tide

Delivene Cockatoo-Collins' intimate connection to Quandamooka Country

In the quiet spaces of Heritage Lanes, discover art that flows rather than shouts. Delivene Cockatoo-Collins' An Afternoon Low Tide captures the gentle power of tidal rhythms, weaving together personal memory, cultural knowledge, and the eternal dance between freshwater and saltwater.

Where Waters Embrace

This artwork emerges from the theme 'Current and Continuity', exploring one of nature's most profound phenomena – the meeting place of freshwater and saltwater. At low tide, cool freshwater moves past mangroves and swamp mahogany, carrying stories from land to sea. At high tide, summer-warm saltwater mingles with fresh, creating patterns that have repeated for thousands of years.

Delivene captures this eternal rhythm through flowing design, with small uneven forms representing bubbles in water. Woven throughout are traces of her grandmother's handwriting, making this artwork a living bridge between generations.

About the Artist

Delivene Cockatoo-Collins lives and works on Quandamooka Country, creating art that embodies deep connection to place and culture. Her practice extends far beyond visual expression – it carries forward stories, techniques, and knowledge passed through generations from her mother Evelyn to her grandmother Bethel.

Through her work, Delivene translates thousands of years of cultural understanding into contemporary art that speaks to both heart and mind.

Layered Understanding

An Afternoon Low Tide operates across multiple levels of meaning. Visually, it presents beautiful abstract patterns that invite contemplation of natural rhythms. Culturally, it holds layers of significance – family history, connection to Country, and the sophisticated observation of tidal patterns developed over millennia.

The artwork creates dialogue with other installations throughout Heritage Lanes, showing how contemporary First Nations artists find new ways to honour ancient relationships with Country.

Tidal Reflection

Encountering this artwork means witnessing the visual representation of thousands of years of observation and connection to the natural world. The flowing patterns invite you to slow down, consider the cycles that govern our environment, and appreciate water's quiet power in all its forms.

Like the tides themselves, the artwork offers something different with each viewing – constant yet ever-changing, familiar yet surprising. It reminds us that profound connections often happen quietly, in the spaces between land and sea, past and present, personal and universal.

Here, in Delivene's gentle vision, we discover that some of the most powerful stories flow like water – persistent, essential, and eternally connected to Country.