Aboriginal artists in Mimili, a community within the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in remote South Australia, are transforming abandoned cars into new artworks. Hundreds of vehicles from surrounding communities have accumulated at the Mimili dump.
From Scrapyard to Storytelling Canvas
Artists such as Shane Dodd repurpose metal from hub caps, doors, chassis, bonnets, and other car parts. These materials are melted, painted, and sandblasted, then used to depict stories about Country, including waterholes and ancestral narratives.
Dodd notes that these vehicles once facilitated easier access to culturally significant sites that were previously reachable only on foot.
Preserving Ancient Lore in New Forms
Generational knowledge, traditionally shared through story, art, ceremony, and song, is now being recorded in these new artistic forms. The Mimili Maku Arts studio serves as a central hub for this creative and cultural preservation work, offering a space for storytelling and community connection.
Artists like Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, a former preschool teacher in her 70s, use their artwork to share lore and wisdom, including spiritual beliefs, Law, and Tjukurpa (creation stories).
Goodwin emphasizes that her paintings contain Law and are crucial for educating the next generation about their cultural heritage and ceremonies, such as those performed at Antara rock holes.
Pauline Wangin recounts learning about bushcraft, foods, and water sources from her parents. She now takes children to places like Patalpi to perform ceremonies and teach them about the witchetty grub (maku) songline, which details waterholes where these dietary staples are found. Caring for these sites is believed to increase grub numbers.
Male Artists and Symbols of Survival
Desmond Woodforde, a musician and artist, creates metal sculptures from car parts by drawing symbols in sand to form moulds for molten metal. These sculptures, along with his paintings of the night sky, convey stories about ancestral guidance and cultural origins.
Robert Fielding, an acclaimed artist, leads the project to reclaim old cars for sculptures, viewing them as "symbols of survival, of resistance, of movement across Country."
Sustaining Culture for Future Generations
The male artists, or wati, gather regularly to share stories and create art, fostering a sense of community and mutual support. The artists' primary motivation is the preservation and accurate transmission of their culture and ancient knowledge, dating back over 65,000 years, to future generations.
Woodforde also shares new songs about historical events, such as the 1953 British nuclear tests at Emu Field, and their lasting impact on his family and Country, reinforcing the deep connection between land, story, and identity.