I am an Aboriginal artist and proud descendent of the Wiradjuri peoples from the Riley and Ferguson families, based around Dubbo and Darlington Point in Central NSW. I also have cultural connections to the Ngardi peoples of the Roper River region of East Arnhem Land up in the Northern Territory, and Darkinjung peoples of the NSW Central Coast.
Sharing cultural stories: Artist Dylan Barnes with his original artwork in the Macquarie University Faculty of Arts precinct titled "Gaagu-Ma-Rra-Awa-Y-Gunha Niiringal (Sharing Tomorrow)." Photo: Samantha Christenson
I am non-binary, and a proud member of Macquarie’s queer community, and I have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). Pick a struggle, right?
I’d been dabbling in art since high school and found people liked what I was creating. It felt great to share parts of my culture within my art and this sparked my pursuit of art as a career around 2018. I have Aunties, Uncles and cousins that are Aboriginal artists, so I’ve learned many things from them too, both culturally and professionally. The banners in the Arts precinct were my first big break.
I found the environment at Macquarie to be very accepting and supportive of my ideas and identity.
I started at Macquarie in 2019 through an early entry scholarship, enrolled in Arts and Law, majoring in Indigenous Studies. One semester in, I knew Law wasn’t for me, so I stuck with just Arts and added in a Politics major along with Indigenous Studies. Though I made it to my final year, I realised politics also wasn’t a space I enjoyed, so I decided to continue with just my Indigenous Studies, with a minor in Gender Studies.
At the time I was connected with Walanga Muru — the Indigenous Centre here at Macquarie — and there was a lot of acceptance and representation of queer and Indigenous identities within the academic communities. I found the environment at Macquarie to be very accepting and supportive of my ideas and identity.
Around the summer of 2020, I received my first commission for the banners in the Arts Precinct. The piece took 120 hours to complete, but I loved working on it. I felt like I could do anything. I was 19 and I had all the energy in the world, and I hadn’t even started drinking caffeine yet. But at that point I wasn’t yet diagnosed with ADHD. The hyperfocus was real.
It was also spectacular to collaborate with fellow Aboriginal artist Lara Went on creating the mural at at the Macquarie University Sport and Aquatic Centre for NAIDOC week in 2021. I just loved that experience and her portfolio. That led to me hosting an Aboriginal art and storytelling workshop with Campus Life and a few other art workshops around the uni, which was really special.
It has been a privilege to share my art and culture with the community, which I hope to continue, and it was a real honour to do the new design for the MQ Ally Network.
What’s next, who knows? Anything could happen. More success, more mistakes – some more expensive than others. I’m just going with the flow and letting my ancestors guide me, whatever or wherever that may be. I don’t really fit into any specific boxes, but I don't really want to fit. I’ll make space for myself either way.
NAIDOC@MQ will run from 4 - 8 August and will be a campus-wide celebration that recognises the histories, cultures and achievements of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. Celebrate with us.
