On Ancient Earth is an exhibition about the relationships we have with the night sky. Projection and sounds based works by 15 artists from 8 countries were exhibited outdoors at night at The Earth Sanctuary in Central Australia exclusively for the night sky. The works were photographed and re-exhibited in an online exhibition which is now closed.
Here, in Central Australia, the landscape has been shaped by the forces of fire and water, rather than concrete and steel, and the night sky in Central Australia is uniquely dark.
What lies beyond the outer edges of Earths atmosphere?
This question, when lying here in a swag at night, is stumbled upon naturally.
The exhibition reflected on our relationships with the night sky, which for so many during the Covid times in which the exhibition took place, was restricted due to lock down and light pollution in urban centres.
On Ancient Earth was co-curated by Lumen and The Artist Expedition Society. The physical exhibition took place at The Earth Sanctuary.
This exhibition took place on Arrente country. We acknowledge elders past, present, and emerging.
This is an archive of the original exhibition. The original film and sound based works are not included in this archive. Click on the images to find out more about each artist.
Rosalie (Kumalie) Riley presents a Welcome to Country for the On Ancient Earth exhibition at The Earth Sanctuary. The exhibition took place on Arrente Country in Mparntwe / Alice Springs, Australia.
Find out more about Kumalie’s work here.