People drawn into the charismatic orbit of Ballarat-born artist Josh Muir were delighted by his bright, bold works and the stories behind them. His ability to see positivity during dark times was well-known and when he showed his art works – urban and contemporary, with a rich layering of Indigenous design – viewers were intrigued.

Muir was 30 and working on a new exhibition when he died unexpectedly in February 2022. His loss was felt deeply and extensively: he had a young family, was hitting his stride in the visual arts, and was much admired for his artworks, warmth, humour and commitment to mentoring others.

A Yorta Yorta, Gunditjmara and Barkindji man, Muir would undoubtedly have been thrilled by the upcoming retrospective of his work, JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live, at the Koorie Heritage Trust in Federation Square. Taking in the dozen years during which he made an extraordinary number of artworks, it is both a survey and a tribute to a man who was greatly loved and candid about his own vulnerabilities.

It was at the trust, in 2013, that Muir had one of his early successes as part of The Ballarat Four exhibition. CEO Tom Mosby was told about “this young kid from Ballarat” working in an urban street style. “He was still, at that stage, exploring his style,” Mosby recalls. “It was a very different style from what he eventually became known for, but you can see where he would … head.”

Muir entered several of the trust’s Koorie Art Show exhibitions over subsequent years and he and Mosby became friends. Muir went on to great success; his animated work Still Here was a popular projection on the facade of the National Gallery of Victoria during 2016’s White Night; a solo show, Josh X Muir, followed at the trust in 2018.

His work dealt with themes related to Country, culture, identity, colonisation, mental health, generational trauma, addiction, loss and grief. He wanted his work and life as an artist to act as a sort of therapeutic measure for issues around mental health and grief. Over the years, he mentored many young people on the therapeutic benefits of artistic expression.

Muir’s partner, Shanaya Sheridan, says the artist’s mental health significantly declined in the aftermath of his brother’s death in 2016. “But he never gave up. Whenever he fell off the horse, he would get back up, dust himself off and try again … one of the many reasons I fell in love with him was his persistence.”

Sheridan – who met Muir in a homework group when they were children, reconnecting in 2017 – speaks movingly about losing him and the impact on her and their two young children, who were “his world”. She also celebrates the legacy of his creativity.

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“There were a lot of ups and downs with the art,” she says. “He’d spend hours and hours in front of the computer some days, creating a piece until he’d exhaust himself; then he would have to have a break from it. He’d always come back to it. He couldn’t settle for a [regular] job because he was an artist – and not just in terms of digital prints: he was a writer, he wrote poems and songs, he collaborated with others.

“He used to say he couldn’t go a day without creating. He was talented at it all.”

In the Forever I Live catalogue, curator Travis Curtin writes of how Muir pushed his work technically and formally. Starting in painting, he soon moved into digital processes and worked across a range of media including video, projection and animation. Known mainly for his digital prints on aluminium, Muir gravitated towards vibrant colours and bold black outlines, with geometric patterns, lines and meaningfully layered imagery.

This layering took in a personal iconography that Curtin describes as “a suite of symbolic images” from which he regularly sampled: crowns, thrones, wings, roses, dingoes, astronauts, faces (including self-portraits), birds, the colours of the Aboriginal flag, and symbols such as the peace sign, dollar sign and crosses.

Much of this was strongly centred on exploring his cultural identity. Curtin points to works such as SOS Blak Australia (2015), We Will Survive (2015) and Coolamon Shield (2019) as examples of the ways in which he examined his heritage. As Muir once explained, “Life has changed, we have struggled, been treated badly. But we are still here – and growing stronger with each generation. This is our story, a story of unity and survival.”

Sheridan and Muir’s mother, Justine Berg, helped curate Forever I Live and embarked on the complex task, along with the trust’s curatorial staff, of tracking down works to give a full picture of his achievements. “I didn’t know he had done so much work,” Sheridan says. “He’d speak about it, but having it all there now, I see what he was talking about.”

Berg says working alongside trust curators to piece together the retrospective was a celebratory process. “Their respect, values, considerations and support for Joshie, his legacy and his family has been beautiful to observe and be a part of.”

She says her son showed creative abilities from an early age. “It came easily to him, he had such a natural gift. I’d love to say that his artistic abilities improved over the years, but the truth is his talent was always consistent and he excelled at anything he put his mind to.”

Berg went to almost all of his exhibitions and says nothing made her more proud. “There were many different traits of Joshie’s personality that made him so unique … When he’d walk into a room, you’d certainly know it. His whole aura was just captivating and mesmerising. He loved to make people laugh. No matter what the situation, he’d always see the positives or make light of a situation by making a joke … his big laugh was so infectious.”

JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live is at Koorie Heritage Trust, Federation Square, March 9 - July 14. koorieheritagetrust.com.au

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