Week 3

As mentioned in my last post, I will be looking at the Yuendumu School Doors.

The School Doors are something that have intrigued me with their colours, patterns and how movement is created through each door.  These School Doors were created in 1983 as a project started by the community elders and artists of the Yuendumu region. The Yuendumu region is located 300km North West of Alice Springs and is seen as a remote community.

This project started as something to help refurbish and change the attitude of the Yuendumu school students environment so they can understand and respect their heritage. The Doors within this school were predominately battered and graffitied, and the community elders decided that they needed to be repainted or replaced. The community elders made the decision to repaint the school doors with dreamtime stories that originate from the Yuendumu region. This decision saw the Aboriginal Art movement move from traditional etchings on the ground to using canvas and modern material.

The main contributing artists for this project were Paddy Japaljarri Stewart, Paddy Japaljarri Sims, Roy Jupurrurla and a few others that are now deceased. These artists collaborated with local community members with the Dreaming designs and negotiating the content which is to be produced.

As a series, the Doors work together to express a range of Aboriginal Dreamtime stories that are particular to the Yuendumu region. After numerous years passed, the condition of the refurbish school doors began to degrade due to wind damage and graffiti once again. The Yuendumu region entrusted the Door series to the South Australian Museum rather than selling each one individually. As part of the conditions of the the Doors being placed in the South Australian Museum, the Doors were to be restored to their original condition and placed on display for all to see.

Above is Door number 4: Old Men and Boomerangs 

Painted by Paddy Japaljarri Sims

'Old Men and Boomerangs' is a dreamtime story featuring men getting their boomerangs ready for battle. The lower half of the door features axes and boomerangs each positioned so they flow into each other, where as the top half shows boomerangs, waterhole, snakes and tracks of flacons. The predominate colours used are brown, red, yellow, white and navy and these help express the emotions and tell the dreamtime story. The emotions from this door is warm and shows two sides battling for each other possibly for the land.

Overall, the Yuendumu School Doors have sparked my interest into the patterns and colours expressed through each of the paintings. All of the patterns flow into each other and draw the viewers eye around the piece to gain the full experience and it is something that takes your breath away.