Karla Dickens’ flood-inspired artwork comes to Byron

KARLA Dickens has long used art as a means of confronting climate change, but after the devastating 2022 Northern Rivers floods, she began to question its purpose.

“I felt that art was too self-indulgent and that there was too much work to be done on the ground,” the acclaimed Wiradjuri artist said. “Then my good friend Blak Douglas won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of me carrying buckets with holes in them, and I realised the power of art.”

Though Dickens’ own home in Goonellabah was spared from flood damage, she opened her doors to those who weren’t as fortunate and felt the deep emotional toll on her community. That experience became the foundation for Rise and Fall, an installation that will be exhibited at Lone Goat Gallery from July 12 to August 9 as part of Byron Shire Council’s Climate Conversations project.

Originally commissioned by Bondi Pavilion, Rise and Fall has previously been exhibited there and at Wollongong Art Gallery. The installation features a striking series of large photographs showing a Bundjalung woman dressed as a mermaid surrounded by plastic at Trinity Aquatic Centre in Lismore, which was severely impacted by the floods.

“The photographic series is printed on tarpaulins, which also relates to the housing dilemma and the use of tarps in natural disasters, so there’s many layers to the exhibition,” Dickens said. “There are a series of works called Rescue Mission with life buoys. It’s very much a multi-disciplinary practice that gets pulled together like a very large collage.”

Alongside the photographs, the installation includes sculptures crafted from debris such as tree roots uprooted during the floods.

Climate Conversations is a Byron Shire Council initiative that invites Northern Rivers artists and communities to explore themes of resilience, adaptation and transformation in response to climate change.

The program launches with an opening event for Rise and Fall at 5pm on Friday July 11. It will also feature a series of free talks, workshops, and creative activities.

They include a conversation between Dickens and fellow Indigenous artist Ella Bancroft, CEO of not-for-profit organisation The Returning, who will discuss their experiences supporting the community after the floods at 2pm on Saturday July 18.

For more information, visit lonegoatgallery.com/events