Micro reviewing
Imagine you live in a small inland town at the junction of two rivers. You work part time for a tiny newspaper; one day in the recent weeks you submit three short reviews.
Photographs show impact of war in the present
Recovering the Past is an exhibition about the impact of war on everyday people in the present. Photographic artist Ian Alderman is showing a series of artworks at the Mildura Arts Centre documenting the ongoing bomb disposal efforts in Belgium, superimposed with the experiences of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The photographs are intentionally haunting, with men of the AIF photoshopped in, like ghosts, alongside the ceaseless work of bomb disposal teams at former World War I battlefields.
After the signing of the Armistice, the destruction of unexploded shells began. In Belgium what was thought to be a three-year project is still ongoing. This exhibition makes real the impact of war on regular people a century later as they deal with explosives in their daily life as farmers, construction workers, and experts in bomb disposal.
Alderman was inspired to undertake the seven-year project by the experiences of his great grandfather, invalided home after the Battle of the Somme with a spinal injury, and his great grandmother, who cared for her husband for the rest of his life.
The artist wrote in 2020: “unexploded ammunition and conflict induced trauma are not unique to the Great War. All conflicts since and likely those to come, will leave similar tangible legacies for future generations to deal with.” Prescient words summing up a moving exhibition.
Recovering the Past is on at the Mildura Arts Centre until 13 July 2025. More information at www.recoveringthepast.com.
First Nations weaving on show
Woven Narratives is an exhibition showcasing local First Nations talent, including Wentworth-based artist Aunty Clair Bates, as well as artists from further afield. Presenting artworks from the Mildura Art Centre’s collection, the exhibition is a powerful survey of weaving in First Nations contemporary art.
As a storytelling practice, weaving sits alongside the more straightforward hands-on process of combining threads or fibres into three-dimensional forms. Aunty Clair Bates’ woven mat is a stunning example of woven raffia and seagrass, while Uncle Badger Bates from Broken Hill uses steel and galvanised iron to depict the junction of the Paaka or Darling River and the Rintu or Murray River, in his Barkandji language.
Other artists from the region include Robin Lee Bates, Joanne Egan, Laree Hills, Roxanne Hills and Daniel Hills. The humorous and thought-provoking woven shoes, by Daniel Hills, encourage the viewer to walk in the artist’s very large footsteps. He has crafted a pair of lace-ups in his size, describing the challenge of finding footwear for big feet. Whimsical with a deeper message about justice, Hills is an artist to watch.
Woven Narratives is a wonderful opportunity to see these and many other artworks showcasing First Nations art from this region and beyond. The exhibition continues until 13 July 2025.
The Mallee seen from above
Salt lakes from the Mallee Region of Victoria, seen from above via a drone, look like semi-abstract paintings in Eamon Wyss’s artworks. Stories in the Landscape is an exhibition of Wyss’s large format unmanipulated aerial photographs, but you’re unlikely to recognise these landforms. Each section of the landscape, printed using archival ink on canvas, has been chosen for its colours and shapes.
Inspired by the First Nations artists of the central desert, whose maps of Country are transcribed using dots, Wyss has also chosen to view the country from above, this time with the aid of a drone. Bold and swirling lines are offset by striking and surprising colour combinations. Bright yellows and rusty reds bleed into salt encrusted mauves and browns.
The artist has chosen not to name the locations of the lakes shown, with the exception of Manangatang, and this leaves the viewer free to imagine. In one photograph, white salty clouds look like they are scudding across a blue sky above a landscape of dead trees, making us forget we are looking from above and not across a landscape.
The eye is forced to jump between abstract and landscape before finally appreciating Wyss’s skill at composing these beguiling scenes.
Stories in the Landscape is on at the Mildura Art Gallery until 24 August 2025.
Post Script
Publishing
I have a chapter in the soon to be launched paperback edition of Crosscurrents in Australian First Nations and non-Indigenous Art (edited by Caroline Jordan, Helen McDonald and Sarah Scott).
Focusing on themes of collaboration and dialogue, the book includes two conversations between First Nations and non-Indigenous authors and an historian's self-reflexive account of mediating between Traditional Owners and an international art auction house to repatriate art.
That last one is my chapter about the 2022 auction of two of Wurundjeri Elder William Barak’s artworks and their return to Country.
If you’re in Melbourne on 15 July you might like to attend the launch event which also launches a special edition of Australian Historical Studies journal (also featuring my research thanks to the editorial guidance and mentoring of Caroline Jordan). I’m sad to miss it but I know there’ll be a great turn out to celebrate all the excellent research published!
Moderating
I’m excited to be moderating a panel at this year’s Mildura Writers Festival from 17 to 20 July. In Ask Me Anything: Literary Idols Edition Sunraysia’s young and inspiring writers will ask the headline authors about their craft. Those headliners are Brian Castro, Robyn Davidson and Jeanine Leanne, so it has all the makings of a riveting conversation.
I had a wonderful time at last year’s festival, it turned out to be an unexpected gateway to meeting bookish culture enthusiasts after four years sussing things out in the inland. This year’s program is stacked once again and I can’t wait. It appears to be one of those festivals where folks get the most out of it by going to every event, though this is a $$ committment, I suspect the amazing food has a lot to do with how cosy the experience is.
If you’re heading to the inland, be sure to say g’day!
Thanks for all these great stories and news of your achievements Nikita, I’m sorry I don’t live closer to Mildura to attend the exhibitions/events.
Great piece Nikita :) and congratulations on your chapter being published! It sounds fascinating.