Exploring Australia's indigenous heritage through art

MANILA, Philippines - Australian Embassy presents “Balgo: Contemporary Australian Art from the Balgo Hills,” which is on view until Oct. 22 at the Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, Ayala and Gil Puyat Avenues, Makati City.

The exhibit gives viewers a chance to experience Australia’s colorful, vibrant and ancient Aboriginal cultural heritage through 26 Indigenous paintings and etchings of 18 internationally renowned and emerging Kukatja language-speaking artists from the Warlayirti Artists Art Centre in the Balgo Hills region of Western Australia.

The artists include Boxer Milner, Helicopter Tjungarrayi, Eubena Nampitjin and Elizabeth Nyumi, who are highly respected within the international arts community.

Australian Ambassador Rod Smith said the Balgo Hills (or Wirrimanu), which is located on the northern edge of the Tanami and Great Sandy Deserts, is considered one of Australia’s most important indigenous art centers.

“The Balgo exhibit offers a riot of color and energy while exploring the stories, lives and history of the Balgo artists,” says Smith. 

“The exhibition reflects the strong connection the Aboriginal people have with the land and their traditions — a connection which is more than 40,000 years old. Balgo provides an opportunity for Filipinos to learn more about Australia’s Aboriginal heritage and further their understanding of the vital role it plays in Australia’s national identity,” he adds.

The Balgo collection presents stories and ceremonies of the mythic Tjujurrpa or Dreaming painted in a way that blends the ancient with the contemporary, the abstract representations of landscape, and spiritual themes with political ones.

The Dreaming or Dreamtime for Australian Indigenous people is when the ancestral beings moved across the land and created life and significant geographic features. These beliefs have governed every aspect of Indigenous peoples’ lives and relationships with the land. They are the subject of traditional stories, music, and artwork across Australia.

“Balgo: Contemporary Australian Art from the Balgo Hills” coincides with the Philippines’ celebration of Indigenous People’s Month.

The exhibit is presented in partnership with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Artbank of Australia. 

For information, visit www.philippines.embassy.gov.au.