Exhibition Catalogue: FreshBark
Soon after FreshBark began, we were offered a small show at the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery. It became clear there were two very prominent threads, or more appropriately, tributaries running through the work made so far in the FreshBark workshops. Deep Track Dry Bed, was a curated display by young Indigenous people that drew an obvious connection between the formation and patterns of a river system and the bloodlines and kinship of their mob.
Working with the core participants to hang this initial display, the title FreshBark came up in discussion. As the creator of the name for the program (made regrettably without any consultation or collaboration) I was nervous; but it was positively justified by the Indigenous participants. Participants from a community that have survived the onslaught of colonialism and imperialism and sustained a right relationship with the natural world that simply approved FreshBark in a way that seemed both right and necessary.
To be Fresh; to be new or different was to introduce new mediums, subjects and ways of working to participants while mirroring that in a flexible approach to collaborating and organising the program. Bark references the tree while borrowing from our Barka (the Barka-Darling River). To have FreshBark implies the growth of a tree as inevitable and that change is constant. To embody FreshWater was a revitalising approach to the program that understood that, like the ecosystem of the Barka, the depth of relationships between the individual elements in the system determines the total strength of the system.
Like a healthy river, FreshBark provided a space of healing and placed emphasis on the relationships between individuals as essential to the total strength of the program. This is an approach that draws clear connection between the blood in our bodies and the tributaries of one of the longest rivers in Australia for both First Nations and non-indigenous people involved in the program. Making art in this space encouraged our artistic practices to set the patterns for the whole system; a space to honour the very small things that can create the largest shifts in the world.
This self-titled exhibition FreshBark is a display of work from Barkindji artists. The approach to selecting the individuals and works in the exhibition was a shift
in curatorial approach for the Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery; an undoubtedly colonial institution. It challenged our usual practices and created an opportunity for the institution to learn from a complex, and interconnected cultural value system. This included First Nation’s understandings of resilience and change, and ultimately created an awareness of the importance of listening. Embracing the strength and mystery of the Barkindji kinship system and building on relationships when the space had been cleared to do so shows in the final display.
These works continue cultural practices of a people and culture whose name is eponymous to the river; the Barkandji. It provides a fresh understanding of just how connected we are to our environment. Just how important healthy relationships between all people must reflect the ideal health of our environment to pave way for a vibrant and prosperous future. Temporarily this may require urgent political action and activism, but FreshBark promotes a positive outlook, provides a space for conversation and begins work on a long road of healing; all while staunchly continuing the oldest living culture on earth. It is difficult to put a tangible value on the most significant outcomes of this program which are incremental rather than quantifiable – but I hope this exhibition reflects the multiplicity of small interactions, emphasises the critical connections and echoes the immense learning undertaken by all parties on a journey of self-determination, decolonisation, environmental action and ultimately forging positive, inclusive pathways for change.
