What Is The Warlpiri Revisions Exhibition At Whitby Museum And Pannett Art Gallery?

Imagine a map. It's got lines, borders, and names, all looking very official. But what if that map is missing the most important bits? What if it ignores thousands of years of stories and the people who lived on that land first?

A powerful new exhibition at the Whitby Museum and Pannett Art Gallery is tackling this very idea. It brings together incredible artists from Central Australia to share their side of the story, right in the town where Captain Cook's journey began-a journey that changed their world forever. It's a story of rewriting history and revealing truths that have been hidden for far too long.

Rewriting history, one dot at a time

This whole thing started with a collaboration that sounds like it's straight out of a film. Over the last decade, a British artist named Patrick Waterhouse teamed up with groups of Warlpiri artists from Central Australia. The Warlpiri are one of the many Indigenous peoples of Australia, with a culture that's tens of thousands of years old. Patrick Waterhouse had been collecting old documents about Australia's history-things like maps, flags, photos, and even comics. These were the official records, the ones made by explorers and settlers.

But they only told one side of the story. So, he took these historical documents to the Warlpiri artists and invited them to add their own history. The artists used a traditional technique called dot painting, where intricate patterns and symbols are used to tell stories about the land, their ancestors, and their Dreaming (which is the Warlpiri understanding of how the world was created and how it's sustained). Painting over these old documents might seem like defacing them, but it's actually something much deeper. It's a correction. It's the artists adding the missing layers, showing a history that was always there, just underneath the surface. These are the revisions that give the exhibition its name.

'When explorers created their maps, they dissected this land with arbitrary lines and imposed state borders. They didn't understand the diversity of nations and tribal people inhabiting this country. They did not know we had our own stories, songlines, boundaries, and nations. Ancient tribal stories criss-cross all over this continent, tracks of totems belonging to different clans and language groups of the land they called Australia.'

- Otto Jungarrayi Sims (Former Chairman of Warlukurlangu Artists)

Why Whitby? The Captain Cook connection

So, why is this exhibition happening in Whitby? Of all the places in the UK, this seaside town in North Yorkshire has a very direct link to the story of Australia. This is the town where a young James Cook learned his trade as a seaman. His famous ship, the Endeavour, was built right here. Captain Cook's voyages to the Pacific led to the British colonisation of Australia, which had a massive, and often devastating, impact on Indigenous people like the Warlpiri.

Bringing this art, these stories, and these artists to the place where that chapter of history began is incredibly powerful. It's like the story is coming full circle. It connects the past with the present, showing that the consequences of historical events are still felt today. It's a chance for a conversation between two very different cultures, hosted in a town that played a key role in their shared history. The exhibition, 'REVISIONS made by the Warlpiri of Central Australia and Patrick Waterhouse,' is being shown for the first time in the UK, and there's no better setting for it than the Pannett Art Gallery and Whitby Museum.

More than just paintings

The 'REVISIONS' exhibition isn't just about the reworked documents. It's a full experience that showcases the vibrancy of contemporary Warlpiri culture. Alongside the main project, you'll find other incredible works, like Antonia Napangardi Michaels' stunning painting, 'Lappi Lappi Jukurrpa (Lappi Lappi Dreaming)'. The bold colours and patterns in a piece like this aren't just for decoration; they are a visual language, telling ancient stories about the land and kinship. This connection to the land is central to Warlpiri life.

There's also a video installation called The True Story, which is being shown for the first time in the UK. It starts with Captain Cook's observation of the Transit of Venus-a key astronomical event he was sent to record-but it's narrated by members of the Warlpiri community. This flips the script, confronting the official colonial history with the 50,000-year-old Indigenous history of Australia. It's about what's missing from the official records and about giving a voice to the original custodians of the land. The work of these Warlpiri groups reminds everyone that their culture is not a relic of the past; it's alive, strong, and constantly evolving.

Planning your visit to the museum and Pannett Art Gallery

Thinking of heading over to see it? The exhibition is running from 11 July to 5 October. You can find both the Whitby Museum and the Pannett Art Gallery located together in the lovely Pannett Park, just a short walk from Whitby town centre. It's a great spot to relax before or after soaking up all that incredible art and history.

Getting into the Pannett Art Gallery is completely free for everyone, which is fantastic. For the Whitby Museum, there are admission prices, but they're very reasonable, and an adult ticket gets you an annual pass, so you can come back as much as you like for a whole year. And even better, entry for kids is free! Here's a quick breakdown of the admission prices.

There's also free admission to the museum and Pannett Art space for residents of the parish of Whitby (just bring proof of ID). Both venues are open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, with the last admission at 4:00 pm. It's always a good idea to check the websites before you go, just in case opening hours change. For general enquiries about the museum or the Pannett Art Gallery, the best place to look is on their official websites. This is a chance to see some truly unique and important work from Central Australia, telling a vital story about land, history, and culture.