Memory Line

The Memory Line is a 2.7km long band of ryecorn grass that marked the original course of Clear Paddock Creek in suburban Fairfield, Sydney. The temporary art installation was developed as part of Restoring the Waters, an environmental rehabilitation project of the Australian Conservation Foundation and Fairfield City Council.

The project aimed to restore a reach of the creek to a natural system after it had been turned into a stormwater canal in the 1970s.

The Memory Line artwork remembered the environment of the past so the community could imagine what would return in the future. The Memory Line developed over time. It was mapped, marked, and sown. It grew green, turned yellow, billowed in the wind, and finally was returned to the soil.

Clear Paddock Creek was successfully restored and provides a healthy habitat for people and fauna alike.