Terra Infirma

The exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory is part of a larger project facilitated by the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre. The project asked participating artists to respond to the 250th anniversary of British presence and colonisation in Australia and to reflect on the past and future for first nations and non indigenous Australians alike.

This project provided me with opportunities to reflect publicly on 250 years of colonisation and settler history in this country, as a witness, participant and non-First Nations Australian, born here and growing up in Western Sydney. Taking a personal approach, I’ve drawn from my memories, inspirations, aspirations, perceptions and awareness. It follows my understanding and way of being in the world developing from childhood through adulthood with increasing knowledge of colonial impact on indigenous custodians of this country, and thinking locally, Dharug land and its people.

These drawings are about place and the physical and psychological spaces I inhabit. These places span geography, cultures and time. They evoke stories that are conflicted, hurtful and damaging alongside others that are also inspired, hopeful and connected. What does this mean for us Australians now?

…I acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded here, and this is only the beginning of my learning with you…

Featured
[thinking about] loss
[thinking about] loss

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H228cm x W224cm (12 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

[thinking about] Loss
[thinking about] Loss

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H228cm x W224cm (12 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

[thinking about] loss
[thinking about] loss

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H228cm x W224cm (12 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

[thinking about] loss
[thinking about] loss

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H228cm x W224cm (12 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

(thinking about) loss
(thinking about) loss

Statement for (thinking about) Loss:
There are hurts that are obvious and others that are there but hard to pin down, hard to identify, to articulate… hidden... deep within individuals, encompassing cultural knowledge (language, people, places), across intergenerational timeframes and through vast geographical distances yet the traces of their impact are still visible here.
I have few words that can convey, albeit inadequately, what I feel for Dharug land and its people. My loss is not the same as yours… it is there as a consequence of your loss… I see your sorrow.

2020. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H228cm x W224cm (12 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

Terra inFirma - Alex Byrne Interview Part 1

Courtesy of Blacktown Arts 2020

My heart is here in water and clay
My heart is here in water and clay

2019. Ink and pastel on paper
H74cm x W47cm

This work was a finalist in the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2020.

[THINKING ABOUT] COUNTRY
[THINKING ABOUT] COUNTRY

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking
This work has been acquired for the Blacktown City Art Collection

[thinking about] country
[thinking about] country

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking
This work has been acquired for the Blacktown City Art Collection

[thinking about] country
[thinking about] country

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking
This work has been acquired for the Blacktown City Art Collection

(thinking about) country
(thinking about) country

Statement for (thinking about) Country:
Country is a term evocative of heritage and home. (thinking about) Country is about the multiple possibilities for how I may exist here.
Land & Sea (here I am) : Land & See (here I come). I sense two significant perceptions of place that either guide or separate my thinking, being and belonging in this space I inhabit… they evoke my connectedness to this place alongside my (English & Irish) cultural heritage.

2020. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking
This work has been acquired for the Blacktown City Art Collection. It is on permanent pubic display at the Dennis Johnson Library in Stanhope Gardens

[thinking about] country
[thinking about] country

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking
This work has been acquired for the Blacktown City Art Collection

[thinking about] country
[thinking about] country

2020. detail. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking
This work has been acquired for the Blacktown City Art Collection

Terra inFirma - Alex Byrne Interview Part 2

Courtesy of Blacktown Arts
2020

Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory
Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory

Exhibition invitation.

Acknowledgement: Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre

Background Image: Gary Carsley, Leanne Tobin and students from Chifley College Bidwill Campus

(thinking about) when I was a child
(thinking about) when I was a child

2020. Detail: Aboriginal Man story. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

(thinking about) when i was a child
(thinking about) when i was a child

2020. Detail: Cook story. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

(thinking about) when I was a child
(thinking about) when I was a child

2020. detail.
From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

(thinking about) when i was a child
(thinking about) when i was a child

Statement for (thinking about) When I was a child :
While reflecting on my own stories of childhood heroes and imagination along with those of my indigenous and non-indigenous friends, it became apparent the conflicted nature of memories, childhood inspirations and aspirations, cultural representation, knowledge and self-censorship… How do you bring together the innocence of your childhood play with the gravitas of your adult understanding? Thinking about the future, I ask myself how I can do this honestly and with respect, yet without the conflicted-ness of the past and present…

2020. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

(thinking about) when I was a child
(thinking about) when I was a child

2020. Detail: Chewbacca story. From the exhibition Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.
Dimensions: H304cm x W228cm (20 panels H76cm x W56cm)
Medium: Charcoal, intaglio, and pastel on paper
Acknowledgement: Tina Barahanos - Printmaking

other stories
other stories

2019.
Dimensions: H15cm x W21cm
Medium: Graphite and coloured pencil on paper
When I think about the map of Blacktown Local Government Area, I don’t just perceive it as a political border. This map looks like a shield protecting the diverse and hidden stories of this place we live in: all the different stories that make up who we are.
This work was a finalist in the Blacktown City Art Prize 2020

Terra inFirma - Alex Byrne Interview Part 3

Courtesy of Blacktown Arts
2020