Untitled | SP-1401

DOB: c.1939 - 2015

Skin name: Ellaga

Language: Alawa

Community: Minyerri

Station: Hodgson Downs NT



Barney was a senior custodian and lawman of the Alawa Community in the Northern Territory. His father was an Alawa man and his mother, a Ngalakan speaker from Arnhem Land. Barney comes from Mamballi country to the south of the Roper River region but lived at Hodges Downs, an out station near Ngukurr.

Barney was a traditional man spending time moving around his country that spans 150km around the Macdonald Ranges. As the guardian (Jungai) of several sacred sites, he managed access by non-countrymen to preserve the traditions and heritage of these locations. It is this, with his intimate knowledge of his traditional homelands, that his work most represents.

Barney painted using the stipple method, pushing the paintbrush into the canvas rather than dragging the brush across the surface. This created the unique “feathery” style seen on most of his artworks. The colours used are generally vibrant, bold colours, evoking an almost cheerfulness to his work.

The visual language conveys a poetic voice of understanding and affection for his country. Vibrant brushwork alludes to a complex system of harmonizing forces and counterforces in the semi-tropical land. Barney painted in a style where each line represents a different aspect of his country.

Barney’s work has been widely exhibited since 1989, with many paintings obtained by prominent museums and public collections, including the acquisition of nine works by the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.