Mari Hirata, King of Flowers, 2026, Artist residency at the Japanese House, Ingham. Detail. PUNQ 2026 Commission. Photograph courtesy of the artist.
5 Lynch St, Ingham QLD 4850, Australia - Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country / Hinchinbrook.
View the interactive PUNQ Art Trail Map for directions.
Venue AccessibilityNearby accessible street parking.
Nearby street drop-off points.
Assisted wheelchair accessibility due to one step leading into the space.
The venue will be clearly marked with PUNQ festival signage.
Quiet spaces available for participants, this location will have ambient or no music playing
PricingThis is a free event.
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 10am - 2pm
The House of Floating Flowers (Ukibana no ie)
Mari Hirata
The House of Floating Flowers (Ukibana no ie) is a site-responsive installation by Mari Hirata, developed through a recent artist residency at the Japanese House, Ingham, and presented as part of PUNQ Festival.
What might a house remember? What might it dream?
The House of Floating Flowers imagines the Japanese House as a living vessel, dreaming through nature, architecture, and memory. Hirata creates new works responding to the spirit of the site, inspired by the house's remarkable journey from Japan to Australia, its floral motifs, intricate timber craftsmanship, surrounding tropical gardens, and layered histories.
At the heart of the project is the metaphor of the floating flower: a symbol for the people, stories and cultures that pass through the house, each leaving traces before drifting onward. Like the house itself, these stories continue to evolve through movement, encounter and exchange; connecting Japan, Brisbane, and Ingham across time and distance.
Balancing history with imagination, The House of Floating Flowers invites visitors to experience the Japanese House through a new lens - where architecture, nature and memory gently intertwine, and where new stories continue to bloom.
Commissioned by Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts and artisan in partnership with The Japanese House Australia.
About The ArtistMari Hirata is a multidisciplinary artist based in Lutruwita / Tasmania. Working across a range of mediums including photography, sculpture, installation, and silversmithing, her practice explores themes of memory, ritual, storytelling, and interpersonal narratives. Drawing together symmetry and organic forms, Hirata creates works that echo both natural and built landscapes, informed by the aesthetic sensibilities of her multicultural heritage. Unified by an interest in materiality, perception, and the quiet poetics of objects and spaces, her work considers how personal and collective histories become embedded within form, inviting moments of contemplation and connection.
Hirata has exhibited extensively throughout Australia and internationally, with works held in collections including the National Gallery of Australia, and has completed residencies and commissions with leading Australian arts organisations. Her small sculptures and wearable pieces are currently stocked in museum and gallery shops around Australia.
5 Lynch St, Ingham QLD 4850, Australia - Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country / Hinchinbrook.
View the interactive PUNQ Art Trail Map for directions.
Venue AccessibilityNearby accessible street parking.
Nearby street drop-off points.
Assisted wheelchair accessibility due to one step leading into the space.
The venue will be clearly marked with PUNQ festival signage.
Quiet spaces available for participants, this location will have ambient or no music playing
PricingThis is a free event.
Back to HomePUNQ respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region; Bindal, Gugu Badhun, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.
PUNQ respectfully acknowledges the Wulgurukaba of Gurambilbarra and Yunbenun and the surrounding groups of our region; Bindal, Gugu Badhun, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, Bandjin and Gudjal as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather, share and celebrate local creative practice. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia. They have never ceded sovereignty and remain strong in their enduring connection to land and Culture.
PUNQ is produced by Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts. The festival is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation and receives funding from Creative Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund. Townsville City Council is a funding partner of PUNQ.