Painting the Heart of Australia

Water Dreaming, by Mavis Marks

People refer to the red heart of Australia as the Central Desert. 

They’re talking about a massive region with tenuous margins. It appears empty even today, but Indigenous Australians have occupied this place for tens of thousands of years. (And I’m learning more about the strict borders clans respected back in the day.)

One of the most awe-inspiring things to arise from this long connection between humans and their environment is the modern yet traditional painting you encounter here. Most of it is acrylic on canvas, and it’s as vibrant and emotionally inspiring as the land itself.

Melonie, my travelling partner, wants to stop at Papunya Tjupi Arts and perhaps buy some pieces on our return trip from Kintore. When we arrive in the late afternoon, a large community meeting is taking place next door. We can’t understand a word of the Pintupi dialect, but we suspect the residents are dealing with two unexpected deaths that have occurred in their community over the past few days. 

The arts centre is a large and airy hall, with long tables for painters to work on and a smaller room at the back where finished pieces are offered to prospective buyers. 

We step inside the sales room. Hundreds of colourful canvases of various sizes hang from racks. The walls are adored with larger pieces stretched over wood frames. Almost all the works utilize at least some of the Aboriginal dot technique that is recognizable worldwide. Several immediately take our breaths away.

A young woman curator begins to tell us the stories behind the paintings to which we’re instinctually drawn. She’s been working in Papunya for five years and her deep knowledge of the artists’ intents is impressive.

Then a young man suddenly appears and asks if the grey Hiace van parked outside is ours. It has a flat back tyre, he informs us. I groan. Melonie is very keen on this opportunity to buy some of Australia; I really need to take care of the tyre.

When I return, the community meeting has broken up and the art centre is hopping, mostly with women and children. Melonie has narrowed down her choices and is talking to the artists and reaching for her credit card.

An older Indigenous woman with cloudy eyes touches my arm with cool fingers. She introduces herself as Narlie. She takes me to a pile of traditional necklaces clumped on a table and explains how she dyes the seeds and uses a hot wire to poke them with holes for threading.

I’ve seen these necklaces before. In 1997, I helped organize a tour of the United States for three Pitjantjara women painters and they gifted me a long strand. I still have it. Nonetheless, I spy a new one in a choker style that perfectly matches the red and orange desert sand. I decide I need to buy it and wear it.

I’m yet to see the Aboriginal art produced in the communities of the Kimberly up north, but the imagery in the towns and communities of the Central Desert is unique and beautiful.

And, for the artist (often women) whose style resonates with a wider public, the rewards can mean the difference between poverty and comfort, dependence and freedom. This is the huge added bonus Melonie says she feels as we leave Papunya with several canvases tucked away in a perfect cylinder. (And a spare tyre installed on the rear of our van.)

Please Consider
If you appreciate art, the stuff of the Central Desert is reason enough to visit. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Unfortunately, sales of Central Desert paintings have declined in the wake of the global financial crisis. For the buyer, however, this means there are deals to be had
• You’ll pay a better price in the many Indigenous communities that dot the region than in Alice Springs, and more of the proceeds seem to go to the artist. That said, the larger galleries in Alice contain some of the most tantalizing works by discovered and emerging painters
• It’s not customary to barter for paintings by Aboriginal artists from the Central Desert. If you like a piece, pay the asking price;
• If you want to invest in a collectible, expect to pay dearly even in the current market slump — good artists know their worth
• Countless other beautiful originals are available at more affordable pieces
• Each piece should come with a certificate of authenticity and an artist’s biography
• A written description of the story behind the painting is often available, too. Ask for it — it will deepen your appreciation of your new painting and the sophisticated culture and spirituality behind it.

Another Central Desert interpretation of Water Dreaming (at night), by Mikailah Abbott