Artwork from Western Australia's Wajarri people inspired by the stories that best connect them to their remote land will be showcased in a new pop-up exhibition launched in Canberra.
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The launch of Balagardi Barnagardi: Across to the Other Land came on the second day of NAIDOC week, which celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The exhibition, presented by the Australian Department of Industry and Science and CSIRO, will showcase the relationship between the Wajarri people and the global mega-science project the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a telescope which is due to be built in WA.
Department of Industry and Science deputy secretary Martin Hoffman said the exhibition was inspired by the interaction between traditional cultures and beliefs of the Wajarri people and their understanding of astronomy.
"There are new telescopes built in WA producing cutting edge science and from about 2018 onwards the international SKA will build a further, much bigger generation telescope," he said.
Australian astronomers have previously worked with Indigenous communities, with astronomers taking communities to observatory stations in WA to take use of telescopes on site.
"It was really successful because it increased the astronomer's appreciation and some of their knowledge came out in the artwork these communities have produced," said Ben Scandrett from the Australian SKA Office.
"Indigenous people told stories about their traditional stories of the night sky and their connection with the land and the astronomers talked about some of the constellations and they had this knowledge exchange."
Exhibition curator Christine Watson took the opportunity to be involved in the exhibition as both her parents worked at CSIRO and she loved the title 'across to the other land'.
"An important part of the indigenous land use agreement the community has with CSIRO for the placement the radio telescope is that the department as a whole will assist in promoting Wajarri art," she said.
As a part of the support given to the Wajarri people, the full sale price of all artwork sold goes to the artist.
Wajarri artist Loretta Egan, whose paintings are in the exhibition, has noticed a lot more Indigenous people painting since the collaboration began.
"A lot of them didn't have a lot of confidence but then next thing they know they're doing it and it's on exhibition," she said.
Ms Egan recently finished her piece, Two Bungarras, to appear in the exhibition, representing how her people lived on the land close to the water.
The painting also features two giant-sized goannas which they call 'bungarras', common food for the Wajarri people.
One of Ms Egan's previous works is currently in the Queen's collection after it was given as a gift on the Queen's trip to WA more than 30 years ago.
The exhibition will be on display at the Nishi Building in New Acton from 10am-6pm until Thursday.
