In the early hours of April 6th 2024 I awoke to the cause and effects of climate change scattered across my lawn. The banks of a nearby creek had broken and due to poor run off management by various stakeholders I ended up with a temporary river running past my back door, a backyard full of coal and a new project.
I Heard a River Coming Down the Cliff is an ongoing survey of the long and complex history of Australia’s relationship with coal and how it has shaped both the physical and political landscape wherever it was found. Through archival research, photography and interviews this project looks to retell the story of coal in Australia. A story that often doesn’t take into account the perspectives of those on the wrong side of the ledger.
I Heard a River Coming Down the Cliff aptly begins in Coalcliff, NSW (Dharawal Land) at the place where coal was first discovered and burned by shipwrecked Europeans in 1797. The project looks to explore the history of coal in the Illawarra through the lens of current and former miners and their families and the environmental repercussions on the immediate area.
It looks to amplify the history of the worker’s struggle in the Illawarra and the struggles that the Dharrawl people continue to face as a result of coal mining in the region. It will also shine a light on what a future without coal can look like for the Illawarra. 2026 will see the project expand outside of the Illawarra.
Biography
T W Baker is an emerging photographer based on the Coal Coast of NSW, Australia. His work is guided by a genuine and unending curiosity of the people and world around him and “perhaps my incomplete anthropology degree”. Baker’s humanist approach to photography elevates the stories of his subjects whilst encouraging viewers to challenge their own perspectives.
Always carrying a camera and a penchant for taking back roads usually leading to surreal and absurd scenes playing out right in front of him. Resulting in photographs that ask more questions than answers.
Baker’s works have hung in Wollongong Art Gallery, NERAM Armidale and the Ballarat International Foto Biennale as part of the 2021’s tribute to Michael Gudinski.
He is a finalist in the 2025 National Photographic Portrait Prize and the 2025 Galah Regional Photography Prize. In 2024 his debut zine, “There’s Sunscreen in The Holy Water” was shortlisted for the PHOTO24’s best pre-press Photobook Prize.
Website: twillbaker.com
Instagram: @baker3
