It was an amazing morning at NSW Art Gallery.
We had the opportunity to experience the strength and spirit of Yolnju culture
through the powerful works of art – from bold bark paintings to contemporary video and digital media.
Spanning over 80 years these art works from ArnhemLand speaks across generations
with pride, resilience and creativity.
We tapped into a tour of the exhibition. We learnt that some of the display were copies of the originals in Canberra.
We also learnt of bark stripping techniques to provide ‘canvases’ of variable size – peeling off in the wetter periods
and then straightened with hot rocks and sand.
We also learnt of the totem type painting of termite hollowed timber – sometimes whole tree stumps ( 5+ metres high)
as well as smaller branches for didgeridoos and more stick figures.
The Video display held us intrigued as we got mesmerised in the music and art of the termite mound, butterflies, leaves,
termite ants and the music-makers dancing on the moving on the mound .
The large termite mound which tells the story was in the centre of a darkened room.
