Tjukurrtjanu: Origins of Western Desert Art

One of the central motivations behind the exhibition is to illustrate the close connection between the all-pervasive iconographic symbolism of the Western Desert and the graphic forms that appear in the early Papunya paintings on board. A variety of decorated artefacts, photographs and films that depict the same iconography in divergent settings is presented in the exhibition space to draw attention to these complex interconnections.

Indeed, much of the content of the early Papunya paintings directly relates to the artefacts, dance movements, songs and ritual performances that constitute the totality of Western Desert cultural traditions. In taking this approach, the intention is not only to illustrate the origins of the first Papunya works, but to question the distinction between 'anthropological' and 'art-historical' interpretations of Aboriginal art.