Seeing Uluru in a new light
We were there when Wintjiri Wiru launched in May this year, and enjoyed a fascinating panel discussion about the show.
Wintjiri Wiru is a spectacular light show involving 1,000 luminous drones and Anangu culture, at Ayers Rock Resort beside Uluru.
Earlier this year, Voyages Indigenous Tourism launched Wintjiri Wiru, a spectacular light show involving 1,000 luminous drones and Anangu culture, at Ayers Rock Resort beside Uluru. The show brings to life a chapter of the Mala ancestral story, and was developed in close consultation with Anangu custodians. “We sat side by side – no one sits above or below,” say members of the Anangu consultation group when describing how planning sessions were held with Voyages and community representatives. “Together, we worked out how to honour culture and Country in the right way. Ideas came from Country, from the land.” The consultation group was involved in naming the experience, advising on the visuals, narrating the story in English, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara languages, and delivering the music – ensuring that every level of the experience is shared with respect and in line with Anangu cultural protocols. “Many times people come into our communities and they are just looking for a tick on the ideas they have come up with and what they have done. The stories and ideas should be developed together, and this is what has been done with this new experience, and it is the first time ever that this has happened – every decision has been made with senior Anangu people.” Watching it all come together, come to life, was an emotional experience.
Anangu custodian Sammy Wilson (Tjama Uluru)
“We were quite overcome, we were immensely happy, it was amazing, it came from our story, our understanding of the world,” says Anangu custodian Sammy Wilson (Tjama Uluru). “It’s important and great that we were acknowledged and involved in working together to bring this to life. We want visitors to come here – we are really keen to do things like this that can encourage people to come again.” The show was designed and produced by world-renowned media architecture studio RAMUS, with the goal of illuminating the Central Desert with a spectacle of lights, projections and lasers shining on the spinifex and mulga.
As custodians of the land, Anangu hold the Mala story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru. To share their story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru, RAMUS designed and produced an artistic platform using drones, light and sound to create an immersive storytelling experience.
“The process came by first not considering the technology at all,” says the company’s founder, Bruce Ramus. “We listened to our head and heart, then chose the technology that enabled that. The result is an experience that is looking to the future with extraordinary technology… paired with ancient science to keep the stories alive for all – a new way of handing down Aboriginal stories.”
“We all have culture,” says Sammy. “We wouldn’t come into your house and open your drawers – we have respect for your home and your culture. We are going to keep doing what we are doing; the young people are taking in the stories, and this will keep culture strong.”
Native ingredients are used in canapes and the gourmet hamper – think blackened pepperleaf kangaroo, smoked emu with saltbush-chilli crust, bush tomato and capsicum dip, and lemon aspen and dill chicken.
Another way to keep culture strong is via the culinary offering given to guests watching the show, conceptualised in partnership with applauded Aboriginal chef Mark Olive, ensuring a broader benefit to Indigenous businesses. Native ingredients are used in canapes and the gourmet hamper – think blackened pepperleaf kangaroo, smoked emu with saltbush-chilli crust, bush tomato and capsicum dip, and lemon aspen and dill chicken. The environment was also front of mind when crafting the show, says Ramus. “The entire project was based on treading lightly. They did studies on the nocturnal animals – desert skink lizards are endangered in that area, so the roads had to be cut around this area. They did acoustic studies. They engaged experts. Builders really took that on board – to treat the land gently and rehabilitate the land where they need to. No concrete was used, and sand dunes were not disrupted.”
As custodians of the land, Anangu hold the Mala story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru. To share their story from Kaltukatjara to Uluru, RAMUS designed and produced an artistic platform using drones, light and sound to create an immersive storytelling experience.
