The pre-dawn chill is torpefying, cutting to the bone as we sit, swaddled in blankets, gazing into the desert under a cloudless sky. There’s a collective gasp as a shooting star streaks across the diamond-studded blanket, slowly fading from black to indigo; while in the distance, a silent monolith – its shape so familiar to every Australian – looms on the tangerine-tinged horizon. As a new day begins at Uluru, a soft glow appears in some trees in the foreground, a soundtrack of wind, birdsong and contemporary music morphing into a voice, softly speaking in Pitjantjatjara language before offering a translation: “This is our Country.
” So begins “Sunrise Journeys′′, the latest immersive offering from Ayers Rock Resort that marries traditional storytelling and the latest in laser, light and animation technology. On a vast desert canvas, the experience brings to life a modern Indigenous painting, interpreted into a kaleidoscope of light and sound that creates a prelude to the greatest show on Earth – sunrise over Uluru. The voices we hear are those of three renowned Anangu artists – Denise Brady, Selina Kulitja and Valerie Brumby – who collaborated on an artwork entitled Ngura Nganampa Wiru Mulapa – Our Country is truly beautiful.
Proudly displayed in the Gallery of Central Australia, this canvas depicts the artists’ shared connection to the spiritual heart of Australia, the rhythms of nature and the seasons that forge a link between past, present and .