As a senior law man and elder, Barney earned the right to paint the Tingari Cycle stories. These song cycles or creation stories form part of the teachings of initiated youth and provide the basis for contemporary customs.

Many of the stories relate to the sacred sites around the Lake MacDonald area. These creation stories tell of the epic journey of the ancestors, the Tingari Men and Women who travelled through the land in the Dreamtime (Tjukurrpa) creating particular sites and teaching Aboriginal law.

Barney’s paintings are held in several private and corporate collections and have been exhibited throughout Australia, Asia and Europe.