Brisbane River photography by Ian Marshall forms the focus of You Cannot Step Into the Same River Twice. The series grows from his long familiarity with the river and his desire to understand it more closely. Rather than treat the river as scenery, Marshall approaches it as a living presence. It carries memory, supports life and shapes the city around it.

The title recalls the idea that both a river and the person entering it are always changing. Accordingly, Marshall photographs the Brisbane River as a place in motion. Its appearance changes, while human activity continues to leave its mark. Yet the river also moves through the city on its own terms.

Robert Macfarlane’s book Is a River Alive? prompted Marshall to ask further questions. How is the Brisbane River alive? Who depends upon it? How have people understood it over time? These questions guide the work without forcing a single answer.

Instead, the photographs invite careful looking. They consider the river’s history, present condition and relationship with human existence. At the same time, they recognise the needs and pressures that people place upon it. The river appears as both a source of life and a site of tension.

Marshall’s long connection with Brisbane also gives the project a personal dimension. The river is not an unfamiliar subject approached from outside. Instead, it belongs to a place he has known for most of his life. Therefore, memory and observation sit alongside historical inquiry throughout the series.

This Viewing Room presents photographs selected from a much larger body of work. Together, they form an open-ended study of place, memory and change. They also reflect Marshall’s broader interest in photography as a method of exploration.

For Marshall, the camera does more than record appearances. It provides a way to question, compare and understand. Ultimately, You Cannot Step Into the Same River Twice asks viewers to reconsider a familiar landscape. The Brisbane River becomes more than a background to city life. It becomes an active presence within Brisbane’s history and its present.

ARTIST STATEMENT

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Copyright, Brisbane City Archives, Brisbane City Council. Picture Ipswich.

In You Cannot Step Into the Same River Twice, Ian Marshall uses photography to explore and understand the Brisbane River—its history, its present condition and its relationship with human existence.

Of the many ideas and usages that make up photography, mine is often about exploring and understanding. These photographs make a step into the Brisbane River in an effort to explore the river and understand both its history and its present.

Robert Macfarlane’s 2025 book, ‘Is a River Alive?’ provoked thoughts about this river which I have known for as long as I can remember. Is this river alive? How is it alive? To whom is it alive? How have these views changed over time? And much more.

These few photographs are a selection from a much larger collection. They represent how this river is alive and gives life alongside the needs and problems of human existence, as was the case long before Oxley’s 1823-4 survey.

Ian Marshall

CREDITS

Artist
Ian Marshall

Exhibition
DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES, Group exhibition, Maud Gallery 2026

Medium
Digital inkjet print on traditional baryta photo paper
Dimensions 615×440 mm
$425 framed as exhibited, $375 unframed

Enquiries
For purchase enquiries, please contact  Maud Gallery, quoting the artwork title.