Mulhu, means ‘ground’ and ‘earth’ in Arkie Barton’s native language, Kalkadoon. Barton’s bold shapes and lines, painted in muted, earthy colours, compliment the clay colour of the wall that curves around the park at Smith Reserve. Studded with metal discs, this wall and the bronze droplet-shaped bollard that divides it is an artwork by artist and architect, Kate Cullity. It was created for the City of Yarra Collection in 1996.

With approval from Cullity, Barton selected colours that would reflect a recognisable Indigenous palette. Her carefully considered design was created specifically for this wall and it weaves around the existing metal discs and other details on the wall, incorporating them into her painting. Barton’s circular motifs repeat and ripple through Cullity’s original round metal shapes patterned with gentle curving lines. Barton nimbly draws them all in to form a striking and congruous artwork that can’t be missed on Alexandra Parade in Fitzroy.

Barton’s circular symbols represent campsites; and now modern-day meeting spaces—a perfect reflection on the Smith Reserve park and gathering space, that is both somewhere for people to come together and also to travel through.

Biography
Arkie Barton is an artist, textile and fashion designer, currently living in Naarm/Melbourne. Arkie is a proud Kalkadoon Bidjara woman, who draws from her Aboriginal heritage to create beautiful contemporary pieces across multiple disciplines. She has often collaborated with other creatives and has presented a number of solo and group exhibitions nationally, building up to her current diversification of creative practice. Arkie the Label was created in 2015 as a platform for mainstream Australia to engage with contemporary Aboriginal culture through an inclusive and accessible creative form—fashion.

Arkie Barton Mulhu mural 2021; painted on the Smith Reserve Wall, Fitzroy by Kate Cullity. Photo: Theresa Harrison/City of Yarra