QAGOMA’s immersive digital experience animates and illuminates the significance of tow row 2016, the bronze fishing net sculpture by leading Queensland artist Judy Watson on permanent display at the entrance to the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). Watson was born in Mundubbera in south-east Queensland and the spirit of much of her work stems from her matrilineal Waanyi homeland in north-west Queensland.

Access the experience onsite via a QR code or online

Judy Watson’s tow row is a poetic acknowledgment of the Maiwar area’s history and culture — an artwork that explores historical fishing activities on the Brisbane River and local waterways. The sculpture, inspired by the traditional woven fishing nets of south-east Queensland’s Aboriginal communities, was the winning entrant of the Queensland Indigenous Artist Public Art Commission, part celebrations for GOMA’s tenth birthday in 2016.

Viewing original fishing nets

Judy Watson (left) and Elisa Jane Carmichael at the Queensland Museum, Brisbane viewing original fishing nets that were referenced in tow row 2016

Judy Watson (left) and Elisa Jane Carmichael at the Queensland Museum, Brisbane viewing original fishing nets that were referenced in tow row 2016 / View full image

Watch | Judy Watson introduces ‘tow row’ 2016

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / tow row 2016 / Bronze / 193 x 175 x 300cm (approx.) / Commissioned 2016 to mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation and Cathryn Mittelheuser AM, through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson

Watch | Experience ‘tow row’ in digital reality

QAGOMA continues to celebrate Queensland artists by sharing works that tell our stories, the addition of this digital reality experience helps unlock deeper meaning about the sculpture, as well as the rich history and culture surrounding the creation and use of these fishing nets by First Nations people.

This interpretive tool harnesses the latest digital technology and amplified awareness of Watson’s artwork and its relationship with the nearby Brisbane River. The experience opens with historical photographs, maps, and concept artwork that were part of the artist’s inspiration and research for tow row.

Go on a journey exploring the history and significance of tow row fishing nets and how Indigenous communities created and used them. This sculpture is deeply connected to concealed Indigenous histories, the significance of objects, and the power of memory and loss.

The tow row in digital reality expands awareness of Watson’s work, as well as our understanding of one of the world’s oldest living cultures.

Judy Watson ‘tow row’ 2016

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / tow row 2016 / Bronze / 193 x 175 x 300cm (approx.) / Commissioned 2016 to mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation and Cathryn Mittelheuser AM, through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson

Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / tow row 2016 / Bronze / 193 x 175 x 300cm (approx.) / Commissioned 2016 to mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation and Cathryn Mittelheuser AM, through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson / View full image

Compatible with iPhone 7 or higher, iPad 6 or higher, Android 9.0 or higher.

This digital reality experience was assisted with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation.


The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Gallery stands in Brisbane. We pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present and, in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledge the immense creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country. It is customary in many Indigenous communities not to mention the name or reproduce photographs of the deceased. All such mentions and photographs are with permission, however, care and discretion should be exercised.

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    The story of Judy Watson’s ‘tow row’

    The story of Judy Watson’s tow row transcends its physical form and speaks of cultural retrieval and community activation. This stunning work, generously funded by the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation, Cathryn Mittelheuser AM and others, is a fitting acknowledgment of the ancestor spirit of Kurilpa. Public art has the power to change the cultural landscape in which it stands. Recently, Judy Watson’s impressive cast bronze sculpture, tow row, was installed in the forecourt of GOMA. Watson’s work was the recipient of the Queensland Indigenous Artist Public Art Commission (QIAPAC), a competitive process that would ultimately see a major work by an established Queensland contemporary artist of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage take pride of place at the entrance to GOMA. The commission is part of a broader project in which the Gallery engages with Indigenous art, culture and community, as highlighted by the recent adoption of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement Strategy. Watch | Judy Watson introduces ‘tow row’ 2016 Judy Watson, Waanyi people, Australia b.1959 / Judy Watson with tow row 2016 / Bronze / 193 x 175 x 300cm (approx.) / Commissioned 2016 to mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Gallery of Modern Art. This project has been realised with generous support from the Queensland Government, the Neilson Foundation and Cathryn Mittelheuser AM, through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Judy Watson Watson’s sculpture is a reimagination of a traditional fishing net used by Aboriginal people, including on the Brisbane River, barely 100 metres away. The nets, locally known as ‘tow row’, were used to scoop up fish near the banks of the river, or to catch entire schools of fish in smaller creeks, where fishermen would stand midstream during the dropping tide, trapping the fish. Traditionally, this type of fishing was the work of men, and senior fishermen took pride in large bone callouses developed by binding the wooden armature of the nets to their wrists and forearms. The importance of the correlation between past, present and future is acknowledged by Watson who, in her initial proposal, noted that: [The] use of fibre and water as the conduit for catching fish evokes ideas of sustenance, family, culture, survival. The fragility of the object cloaks its hidden strength, a metaphor for the resilience of Aboriginal people who have held onto the importance of land, culture and family through adversity and deprivation. It will be a lasting memory of the indelible Aboriginal presence that is a part of this shared space. Judy Watson tow row, like so many of Watson’s public works, was the product of a robust, collaborative exchange. No tow row is known to have been made in the last half century, so Watson engaged local Quandamooka weaver Leecee Carmichael and together they examined the weaving techniques of local nets in the Queensland Museum. Carmichael recreated the knotting techniques to make an enormous net with the help of numerous members of local Indigenous and non- Indigenous communities, which was then cast in bronze by UAP (Urban Art Projects), an internationally recognised local foundry with whom Watson has worked for over 20 years. Mogwaidja is the local language term for the story/place of the spirits of ancestors, equivalent to the dreaming. It explains that the Mogwai (ancestor) whose spirit imbues this area is Kuril, a young female weaver. And so this sculpture of a woven object, and its permanent home at the entrance of one of Kurilpa’s most significant institutions, seems a fitting acknowledgment to the story of this place. The story of Watson’s work is one that transcends its physical form and speaks of cultural retrieval and community activation. By creating this contemporary public sculpture, Watson enables us to glance at the history of the site. She has also encouraged the renewal of a weaving and netting tradition dormant for decades, and allows us to see a present where local Indigenous art, culture and traditions can stand strong and proud alongside — and in front of — some of the world’s greatest contemporary art at GOMA. Bruce McLean is former Curator, Indigenous Australian Art, QAGOMA QAGOMA is appreciative of funding from the Queensland Government and generous philanthropic support from the Neilson Foundation, Cathryn Mittelheuser AM, Gina Fairfax, and Professor Susan Street AO, who have made this Commission possible. The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Gallery stands in Brisbane. We pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present and, in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledge the immense creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country. It is customary in many Indigenous communities not to mention the name or reproduce photographs of the deceased. All such mentions and photographs are with permission, however, care and discretion should be exercised.
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    Judy Watson surveys the rising tide of climate change

    In this large-scale painting moreton bay rivers, australian temperature chart, freshwater mussels, net, spectrogram 2022 (illustrated) on display within ‘mudunama kundana wandaraba jarribirri‘ (tomorrow the tree grows stronger) at the Queensland Art Gallery until 11 August 2024, Judy Watson surveys the rising tide of climate change by representing a bird’s-eye view of Queensland’s Moreton Bay and its rivers, overlaid with a chart of Australia’s average air and water temperatures recorded between 1910 and 2019. Queensland Art Gallery Watermall Watson integrated this data with the knowledges of women close to her. With her nephew’s partner, Tor Maclean, she experimented with botanical-dyeing and stencilling. Aunty Helena Gulash spoke the Kabi Kabi word ‘gila’, meaning ‘light coloured native bee’ — represented here in the form of a spectrograms (visual representations of recorded sound). At her mother Joyce Watson’s home, the artist painted the spectrograms, while at her cousin Dorothy Watson’s home in Oxley — close to the flood-prone Oxley Creek — she dyed the work in indigo. Three freshwater mussel shells, known as malu malu in Watson’s Waanyi language, are also represented in this work. Judy Watson ‘moreton bay rivers, australian temperature chart, freshwater mussels, net, spectrogram’ 2022 The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Gallery stands in Brisbane. We pay respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past and present and, in the spirit of reconciliation, acknowledge the immense creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country. It is customary in many Indigenous communities not to mention the name or reproduce photographs of the deceased. All such mentions and photographs are with permission, however, care and discretion should be exercised.