Shelter is inspired by the ravishing works of the late Aboriginal artist, Emily Kame Kngwarrye, and draws on the cultural practices of the women of Australia’s Central Desert and Utopia regions, to create images of extraordinary beauty. It is an abstract portrayal of the traditional hunting and gathering process, inspired by living off the land. It begins with the women hunting small animals, gathering berries and bush medicines, using the digging sticks to get nutritional roots from the ground.

This production features the First Nations language Pitjantjatjara (Western Desert).

Sections of Shelter

Hunting & Gathering - An abstract portrayal of traditional hunting and gathering methods, inspired by Aboriginal women who nurture and maintain the land harsh Australian earth.
Nesting - Aboriginal women gather for ‘women’s business’ on a sacred ground where a woman conceives a spirit through the land. The birthing sequence follows her journey through the grief of a stillbirth to the final cleansing and release of the spirit.
Toxic - Inspired by central desert women experiencing the effect of mining projects on traditional desert homelands and culture.

Duration: 35 minutes

Shelter premiered in 2000 as part of the double bill Skin which included Shelter and Spear.