Linda Joy

Waterlines is a new body of work by Linda Joy exploring the rivers, wetlands, springs and aquifers of the Northern Territory landscape – the waterways that sustain ecosystems and communities.

Through a series of monochromatic ink works on linen and paper, the exhibition considers water as both subject and an object of composition. 

Working primarily from an aerial perspective, this body of work traces the pathways and patterns carved by water as it moves across the landscape. From our wild wet season storms, carving river channels, feeding wetlands and connecting surface flows to deeper underground reservoirs. Alongside these views are imagined cross-sections of the region’s ancient aquifers, revealing the unseen systems that exist beneath the ground and support life above. 

The project began with research into the waterways surrounding Mataranka, Little Roper River and the Tindall Aquifer. Learning about the delicate balance of these rivers and spring-fed environments prompted a broader exploration of the Territory’s water systems and the complex relationships between surface water, underground aquifers, the ecosystems they sustain and how human intervention can affect this fragile connectiveness.