Start at Home No. 95 - Kulata Tjuta

“Kulata Tjuta” means “many spears” in the Pitjantjatjara language! It’s a special art project that began in Amata, in the APY Lands of South Australia. The project helps keep Anangu culture, stories, and skills strong. A wise Elder named Kunmanara (Gordon) Ingkatji led the project and spent his life teaching young Anangu people about their language, culture, and laws. He also showed them how to make traditional spears, passing on important knowledge so these skills and traditions will continue for future generations.

This work of art is made from 550 spears that look like an explosion stopped in mid-air!

It reminds people of a very sad time in history, when atomic bombs were tested at places called Emu Junction and Maralinga in South Australia, many years ago (between 1953 and 1963). These bomb tests made a dangerous black mist that made many Anangu people sick and harmed the land. The tests were done without asking the Aboriginal people who cared for that Country, and they caused great damage to both the people and the environment.

Questions:

Why do you think it’s important for older Anangu people to teach younger people how to make spears?
Why do you think the artists wanted the spears to look like an explosion frozen in time?

Kulata Tjuta was presented in the gallery before, at the 2014 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Dark Heart
The National Gallery of Australia (in Canberra) have another version of Kulata Tjuta on display until early 2026. It is called Kulata Tjuta: Tirkilpa. Tirkilpa means the sound of the rattling spears

Create a sculpture inspired by the power of nature — fires, floods, droughts, and storms — using light and shadow to show movement and emotion, like the artists in Kulata Tjuta.

Instructions
Materials

Imagine big weather events — flames, water swirls, lightning, wind, or floods. What shapes or movements do they create?
Use rolled paper, cardboard strips, or bamboo skewers to make shapes inspired by these forces. Fire: twisting, pointed shapes. Water: curves or spirals. Lightning: zigzags
Stand your shapes upright in a base of plasticine, clay, or sand. Repeat shapes to create patterns and rhythm.
Turn off other lights and shine a torch or lamp on your sculpture. Move the light to see how shadows change and shift.
Take photos of the shadows your sculpture makes. Notice how the shapes create movement and emotion.
Think about how the shadows make you feel — calm, strong, or dramatic? How does repetition and shape create a powerful effect, like Kulata Tjuta?

Take it further

Create a title for your work — e.g. Winds Rising or After the Storm.
Make a soundtrack to go with your installation: Wind blowing, crackling, water flowing

Cardboard, paper, or bamboo skewers
Scissors and tape or glue
Plasticine, clay, or a container of sand (for the base)
A torch or desk lamp
Camera, phone, or tablet to take photos