Indigenous art to light up the red centre

The McDonald Ranges will explode with light next month in a collaboration between leading indigenous artists and the brains behind Sydney’s VIVID.

When Arrernte artist Hubert Pareroultja was approached to contribute a piece of work to the inaugural Parrtjima Festival in Light, it was in his people’s Dreaming — and his father’s memory — that he found his inspiration.

“In my family’s dreaming, giant caterpillars called the Yeperenye became the West MacDonnell Ranges,” he says. “The giant caterpillars entered [the world] through gaps in the ranges … and they travelled passed Alice Springs to Emily Gap.”

“I got all the ideas for the painting from my father Reuben Pareroultja, because he was a Western Arrernte man.”

Mr Pareroultja comes from a long line of artists. His father, Reuben, and uncles Otto and Edwin, were all members of the renowned Hermannsburg School of watercolour painters, along with Albert Namatjira, whose legacy continues to loom large in both indigenous art circles and the popular imagination. Mr Pareroultja learned to paint under his family’s tutelage and he carries on their artistic legacy today.

He is one of five indigenous artists, including Namatjira’s granddaughter, Lenie Namatjira, who have painted circular watercolours for the groundbreaking event, which will take place in the MacDonnell Ranges outside of Alice Springs this October. In addition to the artists’ illuminated works, Parrtjima will also boast Australia’s largest-ever light show, with more than 2.5 kilometres of the 644-kilometre range to be illuminated for 10 nights. The Northern Territory Government has been working with AGB Events — the bright sparks behind Sydney’s similarly spectacular VIVID festival — to bring the event to fruition.

But the landscape is more than a mere canvas in this part of the world. It is also a fount of inspiration, identity and of meaning.

Ms Namatjira’s contribution to the project, ‘Flying Ants Dreaming’, similarly takes its cues from the Dreaming of her family and her ancestors.

“It’s a men’s story, it’s my grandfather’s story,” she says of the watercolour. “The scenery in the painting is from the West MacDonnell Ranges. I painted Mt. Sonder, which looks like a women lying down. I want people to see my painting so they can see the place we belong to.”

“This is the place of my grandfather Albert Namatjira,” she says.

Many of Ms Namatjira’s paintings are drawn from her childhood memories in Hermmansburg — about an hour and half west of Alice Springs — where she was raised as one of 10 children. Refining the techniques that were passed down to her by her grandfather and her father, Oscar Namatjira, she has exhibited extensively and her paintings are held in collections throughout the country.

In addition to Mr Pareroultja and Ms Namatjira, Therese Ryder, Ivy Pareroultja and Reinhold Inkamala have also contributed works to the project.

Originally created as round works on paper, the artists’ watercolours have since been printed onto 1950s-style circle skirts, which will be illuminated at the Alice Springs Desert Park throughout the festival. The installation is but one of three that will use light and sound to bring indigenous art and stories to a whole new audience.

“The Parrtjima festival offers locals and tourists alike the opportunity to experience a taste of the rich cultural heritage of the Arrernte people in a totally new way,” said AGB’s artistic director Giles Westley. “Apart from the lighting installations and the sheer scale of the lighting treatment on the MacDonnell Ranges, it’s the layered storytelling from the artists and elders that will allow people to connect to these ancient stories. It’s that personal connection to country that sets this experience apart from other events.”

“You can’t help but feel a connection to this landscape and to the culture when in the presence of the MacDonnell Ranges,” he said. “This is a special place, and the festival works with the land to explore elements of the regional culture and let the audience experience something wonderful and beautiful.”