Traditionally Aboriginal people have no written language. Their culture is immensely rich, and they believe the world was created during the ‘dreamtime’, or time of creation. The preservation of their culture is imperative, and this is achieved in many ways- dance, song and via the use of symbols/ iconography. Traditionally symbolism of dreamtime events was […]
Utopia artists are renowned for their superb use of colour. Sometimes the colour palette is delicate and subtle; at other times bold and strong. Canvases often shimmer with fine dots and line-work, creating superb movement and dimension. Ceremonial designs, bush foods and traditional medicine, seasonal changes to plants and country are all represented in the […]
Papunya Tula Artists was established in 1972. Their high standard of work continues to this day; rich in symbolism, and with a timeless aesthetic. The Papunya Tula Art Movement began in 1971 when a school teacher, Geoffrey Bardon, encouraged some of the men to paint a blank school wall. The murals sparked off tremendous interest […]
Not long ago hollow logs were used as coffins by the aboriginal people in Arnhem Land. There are plenty of hollow trees as termites eat the centre out of the trees. When a person died, the family constructed a tall wooden platform, covered it with branches and leaves and placed the body up on the […]
To Aboriginal people, the Dreamtime represents the beginning of everything we have on earth today. In the beginning, the earth was just a flat, feature-less plain shrouded in darkness. However, supernatural beings lived below the surface of the earth. Time began when these beings broke through the surface of the earth and became Totemic Ancestors. […]
Our gallery, Honey Ant Gallery, is named after a fascinating creature, beloved by Indigenous Australians and considered a real delicacy! The honey ant is an important ancestral totem for indigenous Australians. As well, they are important as a food source. They are delicious, tasting like honey with a hint of lime. The three hills at […]
Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri, a Pitjantjatjara man, was born in the 1920s at Pirupa Akla, country located near the Olgas and to the west of Ayers Rock. By the time he was a young man, most of Whiskey’s family had passed away. Many of his people had begun moving towards Haasts Bluff mission, about 250 kms […]
By Rae Walker We had read W.J. Peasley’s book “The Last Of The Nomads” and it had touched us so much that we decided that one day we would try to locate the place in the Gibson Desert of W.A. where the old couple, Warri and Yatungka, had been found. In 2014 we did find […]
Honey Ant Gallery is proud to have a long standing relationship with Papunya Tjupi Arts – the art centre based in Papunya, the birthplace of Western Desert dot-painting. Eminent scholar and author, Vivien Johnson, who recently opened our show “Papunya Tjupi Arts 2016”, has compiled this wonderful short video. The exhibition, curated by Vivien, celebrates […]
