Cecilia sits cross legged on an old green tarpaulin that’s covered in paint stains, seemingly unperturbed by the curious onlookers gathered in front of her.
There’s a biting wind blowing and it’s mighty chilly but dressed in just an old plum-coloured T-shirt, faded yellow coat and skirt, Cecilia seems not to notice.
Winter has come to Central Australia but clearly, it’s just us tourists who are feeling the cold.
We’re in the shadow of Uluru at the nearby Cultural Centre, enjoying a dot painting class hosted by Maruku Arts, a not-for-profit community organisation that offers authentic Anangu (Aboriginal) cultural experiences.
As someone who has the artistic ability of a brick, I’m convinced this is going to be an interesting exercise…
Cecilia begins our lesson by slowly drawing shapes in the red sand with her finger. Three separate concentric circles indicate Uluru, Kata Tjuta and Mount Conner – a favourite topic for our instructor.
Erin from Maruku Arts translates as Cecilia speaks slowly about connection to country and how dot paintings are all about personal journeys, learning and passing on stories from one generation to another.
Next up is animal tracks and we play a little game of “what made this mark?”. Finally, we’re shown some of the tools the Anangu have been using for centuries for hunting, transporting and cooking food. It’s fascinating stuff and despite the chilly weather we’re all totally absorbed.
By now we’re itching to have a go at this ancient art form and we split into two groups, brushes poised and ready.
It’s an incredibly therapeutic process and done in almost total silence as we try and translate our personal stories onto a small piece of black slate using dots, lines and squiggles as our medium. Once completed, we’re asked to present our work and describe what each painting means.
A couple of the ladies within our group talk movingly about the loss of a loved one and how their painting depicts their feelings about that poignant and very personal event.
As the wind howls around us, it’s an incredibly raw and emotional moment.
We return to see Cecilia, who began a painting of her own before we attempted ours and find a magnificent piece of artwork. It’s adorned with red, orange and white dots around the three central circles she made earlier.
Clearly, there’s more to this art lark than just blobbing a few dots onto a canvas.
Cecilia’s work is available for sale in the Maruku Arts Gallery at the Cultural Centre, one of more than 900 artists from 20 remote Aboriginal communities across the Central and Western desert that the centre supports.
Sadly my attempt didn’t make it into the gallery. Guess I’ll have to go back to joining the dots, rather than painting them.
Let There Be Light
I’m always amazed at what human beings can do when they really put their minds to it.
Climbing big rocks, inventing clever machines, going “off planet”. The list is endless.
During our trip with AAT Kings I was fortunate enough to witness Wintjiri Wiru, the award-winning show that tells the ancient Mala story.
My esteemed colleague Jenny Rowland was privileged to attend the show’s debut back in May and adroitly described it as “spine-tingling”.
Developed over five years and in close collaboration with the Anangu landowners, the show features 1,200 drones, lasers and light projections.
It’s a haunting and mesmerising spectacle as the desert sky glows, sparkles and transforms in front of you, telling a story some 60,000 years in the making. If you’re ever in these parts, make sure to put it on your must-do list.
Another recommended attraction is sunrise at the Field Of Light, Bruce Munro’s award-winning art work that stretches across more than seven football fields.
We had the privilege of wandering around the exhibit as the sun slowly rose over Uluru which would have been a spectacle in itself, let alone the sight of 50,000 multi-coloured spindles of light carpeting the desert floor.
Stars In Their Eyes
One of the perks of travelling to the Red Centre with AAT Kings is that they have an exclusive barbecue site within the Uluru National Park.
Set among red sand dunes and desert oak trees, it provides the perfect setting for a great bush feed and some serious stargazing.
With no lights visible nearby, guests get a clear view of the stars in the southern sky and what a show it is.
Our knowledgeable guide conducted a tour of the night sky, describing and pointing out some of the visible constellations with the assistance of a high beam spotlight and telling stories about how certain groups of stars could be interpreted.
To be honest, I’m not a devout follower of astrology, but I found just gazing at the heavens and looking at the millions of stars absolutely fascinating and extremely relaxing.
As custodians of the land, Anangu hold the Mala story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru.
Traveltalk was a guest on the four-day ‘Kings Canyon, Uluru and Kata Tjuta’ tour. AAT Kings also has a three-day/two-night tour with both itineraries starting and finishing in Alice Springs.
