Elder Wing of Australian Art: Plain English Tour
Work 13 of 15

Fifty years ago, Aboriginal art took on a new form.

In 1971, artists at Papunya began using acrylic paints to tell old desert stories.

Acrylic paints are quick drying.

They painted on any materials they could find,

like leftover boards and wood.

This was the start of the Western Desert style of painting.

Many people called these paintings ‘dot paintings’.

They became famous around the world.

Papunya was a government-run town for Aboriginal people.

It is west of Alice Springs.

There were different Aboriginal people there from many different places.

Families were moved there away far away from their lands.

Art was a way to share their culture and stories.

One of the most famous painters from Papunya was Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.

He was an Anmatyerr man.

He used to be a stockman, someone who worked with cattle and sheep.

He was a very good woodcarver and painter.

When people at Papunya began to paint, Clifford quickly stood out because of his skill.

His works were carefully painted with fine detail.

Later he made many paintings that were really big but always very detailed.

These paintings made Clifford famous around the world.

Honey Ant Ceremony is one of Clifford’s first paintings.

When Clifford painted it, he was not yet a famous artist.

But this painting is an early masterpiece, meaning a very great painting.

You can see how fine the lines are that Clifford has painted.

The painting is about the Honey Ant story.

It is a story from Clifford’s land, a long way north of Papunya.