Paintings depict the Tjukurpa, the Law and stories of Ancestors. Anangu (Central and Western Desert Aboriginal people) have responsibilities for the protection and teaching of different Tjukurpa and there are strict protocols for the imparting of knowledge. The dotting technique has evolved with the need to adapt sacred expressions of Tjukurpa for public viewing and as a depiction of the desert landscape. 

While many present day artists use the now well known ‘dot painting’ technique, another school of Central Australian painting was made famous by Albert Namatjira, a Western Arrente man. Originating in the Lutheran mission of Hermannsburg under the tutelage of a non-Aboriginal artist, Rex Batterbee, artists today have become adept at capturing the unique colours of the Centralian light and landscape. They continue to paint sites of ancient significance using a tradition of ‘western’ landscape painting which has become known as the Hermannsberg school. 

Arnold is known for his individual approach to his art and this vivid painting of Uluru is a view rarely seen on canvas.