New Alice Springs offering a peek into Pine Gap – after secret opening for base employees only

The exhibition is probing federal laws in a bid to get a glimpse behind the curtain of Pine Gap, but workers from the secret base are still going to get to see the exhibition first – possibly alongside Jacinta Price.

Mparntwe based artist Georgie Mattingley ahead of the opening of Project Pine Gap, a new exhibition in Alice Springs about what sort of art could be inside the top secret base. Picture: Gera Kazakov

Workers from a secret spy base in the Red Centre – and Jacinta Price – are invited to a secret art show opening, which is attempting to recreate the kind of art Pine Gap could have.

Mparntwe-based artist Georgie Mattingley is behind the new exhibition called “Project Pine Gap”, and said the inspiration behind it is twofold: to find out what sort of artwork is inside the base, and recreate it from what she’s been told.

“From the information that I’ve collected, it sounds like the art is really bad and kind of depressing and a bit awkward,” she said.

Mparntwe based artist Georgie Mattingley. Picture: Gera Kazakov

“I’m interested to know how a machine like Pine Gap, like what art do they put up? ‘Cause art can really humanise a space.”

Ms Mattingley said she’s been talking to people inside the base, who have told her what sort of artwork is inside, and now she’s holding a vernissage for Pine Gap workers this Saturday.

“I think what’s going to be interesting is if people come, then they’re self identifying as a Pine Gap worker – which is absolutely like my goal, to make that like a comfortable and safe space for them to come and have conversations about the art only with me,” she said.

Ms Mattingley, a trained still life painter, said she’s used AI to help her fill in the gaps of what the artwork could look like – which had its own issues.

“AI is quite heavily censored and it doesn’t want to give, or it cannot give images of Pine Gap – you can’t make images of Pine Gap,” she said.

“So (there was) this cheeky back and forth between the AI and I to try and get it to collaborate with me about making this exhibition about Pine Gap.”

Mparntwe based cellist Zoë Barry and artist Georgie Mattingley. Ms Barry has made music to accompany the exhibition. Picture: Gera Kazakov

Ms Mattingley, in collaboration with her mum, has also used AI to help her design a perfume of what Pine Gap could smell like, which will be on display during the exhibition.

But the exhibition is not without risk, according to Ms Mattingley, who said she has been bound by two laws when attempting to recreate artwork from inside the top secret base.

She referenced section 39 of the 2001 Intelligence Services Act – which states it’s an offence to share any information about an Australian Signals Directorate site – and 122.4A of the 1995 Commonwealth Criminal Code, which prevents top secret information from being shared.

Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, located south of Alice Springs, is run by both the Australian and US governments, and has been shrouded in secrecy since it opened in the 70s.

“Local VIPs” such as Jacinta Price, newly elected Mayor Asta Hill, and other dignitaries are invited to Saturday’s vernissage, Ms Mattingley said.

After the vernissage, the free exhibition will be open to the public on Wednesday, October 15, with local author Kieran Finnane onsite for a Q&A.