An interview with Hayley Millar-Baker, Melbourne Art Trams

Melbourne prides itself on being an artistic and cultural hub and this year’s series of Melbourne Art Trams will inject a dose of visual art straight into the veins of the city, via its iconic tram network. The 2018 lineup features seven new commissions by Australian artists including Stephen Baker, Oslo Davis and high school student Valerie Tang, as well as a re-creation of a hand-painted W-Class tram originally designed by the late expressionist painter David Larwill in 1986. The eight art trams will ride the rails as part of the visual arts program at the Melbourne International Art Festival in October, continuing to brighten up the streets until early 2019. There’s also a chance to vote for your favourite tram via the People’s Choice award.

Milk Bar Mag had the pleasure of speaking to one of the featured artists, Hayley Millar-Baker, about her tram design and her work as an artist.

Why does designing one of the Melbourne Art Trams appeal to you? I remember a couple years back when I saw Reko Rennie’s tram and just thought to myself, “what a boss!” I actually hadn’t thought too much into how one would secure a tram to plaster art all over it. But when I did see the advertisement to apply I have an ‘always give it a go’ attitude. So I did, I gave it a go and it paid off!

When did you decide to become an artist? I became an artist when I was 5 in grade Prep in primary school. My favourite teacher ever Miss Atkinson (Yorta Yorta) assigned me to be the class illustrator for all of our class storybooks. I took my job seriously and was so encouraged by her that I thought I could legit make pictures forever.  And so I did all my formal training and here we are now!

What has been your most touching or amazing moment you’ve experienced as an artist? I think this answer is simple: every moment I get to share my work or accomplishments with my family are the best moments. They’re so proud of me so their excitement and happiness is just the icing on the cake.

Cultural heritage and connection to Country play an important part in your artwork. What themes would you say are most integral to your work as an artist? That’s a tough one because there are a lot of complex components within my works all operating at any one given time. I think a lot about past, present and future narratives within intergenerational experiences of persons, land, flora and fauna. But I think without having a strong narrative my work would fail. Story telling is how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people passed down information, we had no written language, and all information was delivered verbally and/or visually. So I like to translate narratives through visual prompts. If you were looking for a straightforward answer to what themes are most integral to my work, I would say intergenerational experiences that meet in one place.

You describe yourself as engaging with subjects surrounding your existence as a Koori living in colonised spaces. How does your work comment on the current social and political issues facing indigenous people? You have to remember that there are 500+ Aboriginal Countries on this continent. Within those, there are numerous amount of clans. So with that said, I don’t feel I have the authority to comment on all social and political issues that indigenous are faced with. And that’s for two reasons: the first being that I don’t want to overload myself with really upsetting data and news, because it’s too exhausting – I can’t fight every battle, I have to look after myself too, I need to heal from centuries of colonial trauma inflicted on my grandmothers that bleeds through my veins. The second reason is because I don’t feel I can be a general voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. I feel confident in narrating stories of social and political issues that either myself or my family, or my mob, or my Country, or my friends, or Koories have experienced, but outside of that I’m also just a viewer. I will stand-up and fight when I can, but those aren’t my stories to tell. I can only be an ally outside of those areas. But within my personal areas, I like to tell the stories truthfully and openly expose that to whoever will look.

What are your upcoming plans for your work? My nanna passed recently so I have lost a large part of myself. Her passing has brought to my attention my negligence towards two parts of my heritage and culture. So I am currently researching Brazilian and Anglo-Indian experiences within my family and eventually I will bring these individual narratives together to weave stories of my personal survival. But that’s just one segment to my incredibly busy practice!

Melbourne Art Trams 
Melbourne International Arts Festival
Thursday, 4 October 2018 to April 2019
festival.melbourne/2018/events/melbourne-art-trams