Located in the Central Desert of so called Australia, Hermannsburg Potters have been making pots in terracotta for over 30 years. In their language, Western Aranda, this remote community is called Ntaria (pronounced in-taria). Aboriginal Peoples have been living here for tens of thousands of years, long before whitefellas came.

Led by artist Hayley Coulthard, the potters began searching for local clay- arna-urrkgna, going out in the bush car to find it. Collaboratively the artists began refining the found clay and making it workable.

From when the clay is collected, all the arna-urrkgna, to its final product, the Hermannsburg Potters are paving the way for the technical and conceptual use of found clay. This project not only requires  longevity of skill but also careful cultural consultation and consideration in using clay from their ancient land.

Rona Rubuntja’s work speaks about this experience on country. In using this found clay these stories that are painted become a literal projection of such experiences. The positioning of the artists as Traditional Owners for this land allows for a unique means of communicating old and new stories. 

Collectively, this work engages with notions of land in relation to belonging vs ownership- reflecting the First Nations experience of belonging to the land  in partnership and questioning the colonisers desire to own it.