How Many Times Can the Same Image Change?: The History of the Image in Murujuga

Abstract

In this paper, I will analyze the history of the image in Murujuga, located in Western Australia, through three stages: creation, preservation and destruction. I will argue that each stage is linked to a turning point in the history of Australia. The first stage is linked to the Dreamtime, a time where Aboriginal cosmology sets the origin of the world. The second stage is linked to the arrival of the white settlers and colonialist practices, where surprisingly the images were neither appropriated nor destroyed, but neglected. The third stage is linked to destruction, where the Aboriginal images from Murujuga does not find a place, and instead are excluded from the multicultural frame of heritage, that Australia boasts. The conclusion will give me the opportunity to discuss how these changes have affected the meaning and perception of these specific images (Aboriginal rock art), by contesting the concept of heritage.