The Artists of the Barkly shine in Darwin show

In mid June, the Artists of the Barkly opened All that glitters…poetics of the Barkly, a group show presented by Coconut Studios and Barkly Regional Arts. Curated by Katie Lynch and Dr Erica Izett in partnership with Coconut Studios, the exhibition showcases paintings and sculptures by leading artists from the Barkly region alongside photography by Jesse Marlow.

All that glitters... poetics of the Barkly bears witness to the region’s hard beauty, forged by belting heat, violent floods, and rwa (wildfire). Artists sing the treasures of arid plains, vast skyland and the mythic, elemental, and cosmogenic forces that inhabit them. Their enchanting expressions of country are underscored by the power and tenacity of tradition, the ancestral sublime and the uncanny.

Anything can happen. This is the outback.

- Annette Nungala

Rita Beasley paints a powerful incantation of country. Dramatic ghost gums are set against blocks of rich textured colour while scattered dotting infuses the sparse canopies and precious shade. Several paintings sparkle with constellations of light. Native birds and rainbows mark the visitation of rain on parched lands. Rains recede and fires scars fade into drifts of diminutive blossoms, the guardians of potent medicines. Clusters form fields of yellow, undulating with rwarr (wind) while screaming ilenty, (galahs) cut the silence and murmurations of ateherr (budgerigar) flash through blue skies. Kwatyel, (flood water) bellows through Iytwelepenty escarpments. The ancient landscape makes its presence felt. These are the big stories of country. Eons inhabit her world.

Heading north towards Iytwelepenty, sun-worn billboards mark Wycliffe Well, the UFO Capital of Australia. Stories of alien trespass are told to capture the attention of passing tourists. Jesse Marlow’s Hulk is joined by a waxy Elvis and a green-skinned alien - an eccentric cast of characters make a desolate tableau. For all the loudness of its décor Wycliffe’s heavy silence is upset only by the occasional roar of passing road trains. Lone travellers feel a prickle on their necks as a thousand cartoon eyes look on: kitsch tributes to a mostly forgotten yarn.

But Wycliffe is not the Barkly’s only claimant of UFOs. Flying mewtek (cars), said to kidnap stranded travellers, and moving lights are occasionally seen by residents of communities nearby. Hostile intrusions by strange figures come in the night, stirring primordial fears exacerbated by extreme isolation.

This is a long, long, long time ago story – the old people used to tell us.

A big monster, like a gorilla or a monkey – a hairy one.

He comes along from out west. That monster sneaks up when people are sleeping.

He gets them, grabs them, puts them over his shoulder and takes them.

He sits there and eats them. Like a kangaroo. He finishes them off.

All the old people used to tell us...2

- Susannah Nakamarra Nelson

The old stories and altyerr (Dreaming) like magical tales from many cultures are augmented by the threat of the maleficent. Susannah Nelson’s clipped compositions are simple poems. Stencilled configurations intensify the everyday with their simplicity. Arresting characters occupy a near-empty stage set with motifs of cars, music and marches, of fairy tales, ceremony, and biblical parables. Ordinary, beautiful, and occasionally sinister.

Sparkling star trails fade into dew jewelled mornings as desert life greets the sun. Turning east off the Stuart Highway the red dirt road is lined with spritely blossoms. Iytwelepenty shines in the distance and fields of wildflowers glisten with harvest, these are the golden treasures of the Barkly.