Out of the desert exhibition opens in Sydney

Foxtel viewers may have seen the ads for the following exhibition in the last few weeks.

Great to see such a fantastic exhibition being promoted on national TV.

If you have the opportunity, be sure to have a look!

Papunya Artwork Exhibition opens at the Australian Museum

The Aboriginal exhibition, ‘Papunya Painting: Out of the Desert’ at Sydney’s Australian Museum opened last Saturday featuring a collection of rare Indigenous artworks.

There are early masterpieces of the renowned 1970s Papunya Tula art movement that spanned more than a decade and transformed understandings of Aboriginal art.

Within the exhibition there are 37 paintings and 24 cultural objects, two paintings of which are accompanied by music played overhead in the museum. They include the 1974 ‘Ngurrapalnga’ by Uta Uta (Wuta Wuta) Tjangala Old Man Dreaming and 1974 ‘Possum Men of Yirtjurunya’ by Anatjari (Yanyatjarri) Tjakamarra.

All the paintings are of Dreaming stories and feature ‘dot patterning’, some such as the 1975 ‘Budgerigars in the Sandhills’ by Billy Stockman Tjapaltajarri consisting of splashes of bright pink colours symbolising the travels of his Budgerigar ancestors.

Yet the acrylics, according to Vivien Johnson, curator of the exhibition, were still being developed at the time they were painted, showing just how innovative the artworks really are in their experimentation and depiction of contemporary Aboriginal culture.

A must see at the exhibition is the 1975 painting ‘Trial by Fire’ by Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri that needs to be examined from afar to completely capture its haunting presence. An ash coloured patterning is used to create the smoky shape of human figures upon a dot pattern background.

There is also a ‘Tjitji Gathering Place’ for kids, a perfect area for kids on school holidays to relax, play and learn, with tables where kids can trace their own ‘dot patterning’ artworks.

Throughout the exhibition kids can also engage themselves by reading the information tiles placed next to each artwork and object, whilst following a honey ant trail that takes them from start to finish.

‘Papunya Painting: Out of the Desert’ will run at the Australian Museum until November 2 2008.

Admission is $15 adult; $10 concession / WYD08 pilgrims; $7 child (5 – 15 years); Free for children under 5 years of age.

WARNING: Visitors should be aware that this exhibition includes images and names of deceased people that may cause sadness or distress to Aboriginal People