Before Time Began
Fondation Opale
‘Before Time Began’, are words often spoken by Aboriginal artists in Central Australia to set the stage for the creation of the world by ancestral beings – the creators of all living things, the landscape and laws – the Dreaming.
With the phrase as its title, this book forms an archive of the first major Australian Indigenous art exhibition at the Fondation Opale, which is on display until 29 March 2020 in Switzerland. It showcases the work of artists from the central and western desert regions, in particular Arnhem Land and the Kimberley, and includes early works from the 1970s Papunya art movement, as well as traditional and contemporary works from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.
Essays by Georges Petitjean, Jessica De Largy Healy, Luke Sholes, Nici Cumpston and Dr Lisa Slade provide insight into the evolution of Indigenous art from remote communities. We learn of the emergence of art from Papunya via Sholes, while De Largy Healy looks to law, creativity and contemporary art in Arnhem Land. Cumpston writes on the origins of the ‘The Kulata Tjuta (Many Spears) Project’. And a conversation between Petitjean and three senior Anangu artists Keith Stevens, Witjiti George and Peter Mungkuri, shares the importance and symbolism of Kulata Tjuta. Following these among other texts is an exceptional visual presentation of each of the works featured in this landmark show.
