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[title]The Barka (Darling River) holds a significant place in the culture of the Barkandji ('people of the river', from the Darling River area of western NSW). It's more than a vast water body – it’s a mother, ancestor, and a vital source of life. Unfortunately, over the years, mismanagement of the Barwon-Darling system has not only endangered the Barka, but also the people living along its banks.
To help raise awareness and advocate for a healthy future for Barka, artists Justine Muller and Uncle Badger Bates created a stunning exhibition – Barka: The Forgotten River – that’s currently on display, for free, at the Australian Museum. The series of works focuses on the stories, culture and people who love and depend on the Barka, portrayed through mediums including ceramics, paintings, wood and steel sculptures, leadlights, lino prints and a multimedia installation.
Time Out chatted with Muller to learn more about the threats to the Barka, and what people can expect to see at this moving and important exhibit.
Barka: The Forgotten River is currently on display, until Sunday, July 23. The exhibition is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Sunday, with a later finish time of 9pm on Wednesdays. Find out more info here.
Photograph: Supplied
What was your motivation to be a part of this exhibition?
In today's modern world, we are bombarded with endless information, to the point that people have become numb to facts, words and figures. Art has a different way of reaching people. Art has the power to connect on another level, one that evokes an emotional response.
I'm motivated to use my art as a tool to engage people to look more deeply at the world around us.
Tell us about the Barka – what's threatening its survival?
Over-extraction and flow alterations – we are diverting and taking too much water from the river. This means most medium flows and flood events get absorbed behind the floodplain harvesting dams and trapped behind on-stream dams and weirs. The water often doesn’t make it into the river to keep it healthy in between the big floods. This is a problem for dry years and average years.
Another threat to Barka is the lack of holistic management. The previous fish kill was caused by over-extraction, leaving stagnant water to experience algal blooms in heat waves. This fish kill, after big flood events, was due to too much organic material entering the river system, and the fish getting trapped behind the closed floodgates at Menindee Lakes.
Ultimately, what is lacking is the care and management of the river and its lands as a single living entity. Failing to manage landscape holistically leads to build-up of organic material (that cultural burns, for instance, would remove). There's over-clearing and overgrazing (which leads to sediment eroding into the river), and higher nutrient loads from fertilisers. Climate change is only making these existing problems worse.
Photograph: Justine Muller | Bridge at Tilpa, taken April 2019
For example, along the once mighty Barka is a sign on a bridge that says “no jumping, strong current and boats below”. The irony of that was particularly apparent for the three years the river was dry. The tiny town of Tilpa was once a place travelled to for good fishing. Like many of the towns along Barka, the community ran out of water in 2019, relying on emergency boxed drinking water donated by the generosity of other people and communities who drove it in on trucks along with hay for starving cattle.
Also, mussels of the Barka can take up to 50-70 years to grow to full size. They start as a tiny plankton no bigger than a pinky fingernail and travel through the wet mud at a very slow speed. They are a living and breathing creature and a vital part of the food chain. Looking at how the shells of mussels form can teach us a lot about the health of the river. A full-size mussel proves that the river was flowing for a long time. To see an empty river bed full of dead mussel shells is a heartbreaking sight.
Photograph: Justine Muller | Mussel shells in dry river bed, taken April 2019
Traditional Owners know how to manage the river to support thriving, prosperous communities and healthy Country, and we're not asking them how. Scientists have been warning us and we are not listening to them either.
Why did you visit the Barka?
I originally travelled to the far west for an artist residency at Fowlers Gap outside Broken Hill. This area's vast space and rich colours have inspired many artists, past and present. When I was out there, my car broke down, and that's how I ended up living in Wilcannia with the Barkandji on the banks of the Barka.
How did you meet Uncle Badger Bates?
I met Uncle Badger in Broken Hill and we connected over our shared love of art and activism. He invited me to return and collaborate with him and to make work on Barkandji Country.
Photograph: Justine Muller
What was it like to go out to Country with him?
Being on Country, I learnt to look at the land in a new way. To slow down and listen to her, to pay attention to the little details and to understand how we are all connected. That we, all Australians, are a part of this complex yet beautifully balanced natural world and how, when lore is not respected and nature is not protected, we all suffer.
What can the public expect to see at the exhibition?
The exhibition is an immersive experience, encompassing painting, video, audio, prints, carving, installation, ceramic and photography. The public should expect not only to see beautiful art, such as Uncle Badger's carved mussel shells that represent the fragile food chain of the Barka, but they can also stand in front of my oil portraits and listen to my recordings of the voices of the people who live on the Barka.
Photograph: Supplied
This exhibition is more than just a visual experience, it's a journey. Visitors will learn to see the Barka through two different cultural perspectives – through my lens (a guest on Country) and through Uncle Badger's lens (whose people's connection reaches back to the Dreamtime). It was important to us both that we teach truths but also leave audiences with hope and motivation to act to help save our precious waterways.
What are you most excited or proud of with this exhibition?
Bringing the Barkandji voices to a Sydney audience is something I'm excited about. I'm proud that this collaboration is an example of what we can achieve when we come together. I feel privileged to have spent so much time with not only Uncle Badger, but with the Barkandji community. It was through their welcome and generosity that I was able to make the work for this exhibition. Now I hope that our art can teach wider audiences the value of First Nations wisdom and to have a greater understanding of the importance of protecting the Barka.
Barka: The Forgotten River is on display until Sunday, July 23, 2023. The exhibition is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Sunday, with a later finish time of 9pm on Wednesdays. Find out more here.
Plus, you can meet Justine in person at this brand-new art workshop, Portrait Painting on Tin. Explore art, culture, and history in a hands-on and immersive way, drawing inspiration from various artworks on display. Justine's expertise in tin preparation techniques will allow participants to create their very own portrait to take home. Find out more info here.