His early years were spent on the Talbragar Aboriginal Reserve with his parents and siblings David, Wendy and Carol.
He subsequently worked as a technician in the photography department of the Sydney College of the Arts,[1] where he continued to study.
His parents were churchgoers,[2] and Riley appropriated the iconography of his "creepy" religious experiences,[9] particularly in projects such as Fly Blown (1998) and the digital art series Cloud (2000).
[1] Many of Riley's photographs and films explore Indigenous identity, experience and politics, including Malangi: A day in the life of a bark painter (1991), Poison (1991), Blacktracker (1996), and Tent Boxers (2000).
Riley's work was among that of eight Australian Indigenous artists selected for an architectural commission for the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris in 2006.
The work premiered as part of a double bill at the Sydney Opera House, and was a huge success.