Riverbed 2014 reminds us that water is precious. A small stream weaves through a landscape of water-rounded stones. This environment is out of place within the walls of the gallery. It looks natural but feels unnerving. As if a landslide has just occurred. Without daylight, vegetation, birds or other markers of time and place, it is unclear whether we are standing in a near-empty riverbed, or the first upwelling of a new water source. Is this a pre- or post-human landscape?

Riverbed is inspired by meltwater streams in Iceland, which appear in spring as snow melts in the highlands, and the water rushes down from the mountains and plateaus, before dwindling to a trickle in summer. The landscape within Riverbed is particular to Eliasson but also feels universal – a source landscape for us all.

In Iceland, the once-majestic glaciers are now melting faster than they can be renewed by the winter snowfall, leaving behind beds of tumbled rock, gravel and sand very similar to this. Immediately outside the Gallery, the Maiwar, or Brisbane River flows, rising and falling with the tides and sometimes with major floods. As our climate changes, these floods are becoming more frequent.

In Riverbed, everything we experience is carefully planned. Under the cool grey-toned light, Eliasson seeks to amplify our awareness of nature, the flow of time and the choices we make.

We are welcome to find our own way through Riverbed. The landscape has no paths, so we must choose how to explore, perhaps ascending to the source of the water as it bubbles up through the stones. We might follow the footsteps of a friend or find a quiet place to sit by ourselves. We might touch the stones and feel the water pass through our fingers. The experience, the journey and choices we make are an integral part of the artwork.

Feature image: Olafur Eliasson's Riverbed 2014, installed at GOMA for 'Air' in 2019 / Water, rock (volcanic stones [blue basalt, basalt, lava], other stones, gravel, sand), wood, steel, plastic sheeting, hose, pumps / Purchased 2021. The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Charitable Trust Collection: The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Charitable Trust, QAGOMA / © 2014 Olafur Eliasson / Photograph: N Harth, QAGOMA