Welcome to 'Story Place'

– Thancoupie ao

‘Story Place: Indigenous Art of Cape York and the Rainforest’ is the first major exhibition to explore the historical and contemporary art of Cape York’s Indigenous peoples. Evident throughout the exhibition is the contrast of art work across the three main Cape York regions — east Cape, west Cape and the rainforest — particularly by contemporary artists.

Each work demonstrates the energy of everyday life in and around the communities of the Cape. Stimulated by their surroundings, each artist celebrates identity and heritage through the exploration of different media. Certainly, art has always been closely integrated with Aboriginal life — the environment, trees, rocks, legends, song, dance, ceremony, law, and the land.

Audiences will appreciate the presence of the strong natural earth colours and note the absence of blues, greens and mauves in the historical works — colours for which Aboriginal people had no names. These rich natural hues, from the land itself, include red, white and black. The significance of these colours stems from their relationship to ceremony, in the past ochres were used primarily in body painting, rock art and the decoration of artefacts. Today they are mixed with modern binding agents, so when they are applied to canvasses, shields and sculptures, they last — just like our culture has lasted, and continues to remain strong.

The ‘Story Place’ exhibition demonstrates the diversity of art work across Cape York Peninsula through paintings, wood carvings, weaving and ceramics. When new audiences see the work of these artists for the first time they will begin to understand the amazing beauty, colour and spirit of the peoples of the Cape.