Megan's Blog

Ilgarijiri comes to Perth

A few months ago, a group of aboriginal artists from the Murchison region of WA got together with a group of astronomers from Curtin University and spent a couple of nights out under the stars. The artists shared some of their legends involving the stars and the astronomers used telescopes to show some of the sights of the deep sky.

This extraordinary and unique cultural exchange resulted in a large collection of indigenous art, presented in the Ilgarijiri exhibition which was displayed in Geraldton's regional art gallery from June through to the start of September.

Now, the exhibition has moved down to Perth where it opened on September 15th. It will be on display in the new Chemistry and Resources Precinct at Curtin University of Technology until November.

The title of the exhibition, Ilgarijiri, is a Wadjarri word meaning "things belonging to the sky". The collection includes depictions of the emu in the sky, the seven sisters and many other stories, as well as astronomical images such as planets and supernova remnants.

Once the exhibition finishes in Perth it will move on to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), in Canberra, where it will be opened on Friday November 27. And if you're going to CAP2010 in March, look out for Stephen's talk on the project.