Holding Country | Araluen Art Collection

Curated from the Araluen Collection these artworks celebrate the enduring connection between Aboriginal people and Country across Central Australia. Vast grassy plains, spinifex covered sandhills, winding creek beds, rocky ranges and water soakages are brought to life through painting. More than depictions of place, these works express identity, culture and the responsibility to care for Country.

The collection includes paintings of Country from aerial perspectives, depicting ceremonial sites, bush foods, bush medicines and Dreaming stories. They are displayed alongside the watercolour paintings of Albert Namatjira and the Hermannsburg School, which capture the beauty of the Central Australian landscape through river red gums, ghost gums and the changing light. Sculptures and paintings of Aboriginal stockmen, horses, camels, cattle and the Toyota reflect the lived experiences of Aboriginal people across Central Australia. The Toyota has become a symbol of life on Country, enabling people to travel vast distances to Land Council meetings, visit family, hunt, fulfil cultural responsibilities and return to ancestral Country for ceremony. Together, these works share knowledge, history and cultural traditions that continue to be passed from generation to generation.

For Aboriginal people, painting Country is also an expression of land rights. The stories, sites and ancestral connections represented in these works affirm the continuing relationship between people and their traditional lands. Art has played an important role in maintaining cultural knowledge and demonstrating continuous connection to Country, providing evidence that has supported land claims across Central Australia.

This exhibition acknowledges the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, the Act recognised the traditional ownership of land by Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory and created a pathway for many communities to regain legal ownership of their ancestral lands. Together, these works celebrate the strength of culture, the importance of Country and the enduring legacy of land rights as highlighted in Mervyn Bishop’s 1975 photograph Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pours soil into the hand of traditional land owner Vincent Lingiari, loaned from the National Portrait Gallery specifically for this anniversary.

Featured Artwork: Albert Namatjira, Albert’s camp near Mount Hermannsburg 1941, watercolour on paper, 23.5 x 34.5 cm, Araluen Art Collection, accquired in 1992.