The new exhibition at the Musée des Tumulus in Bougon (Deux-Sèvres) is devoted to the Australian Aborigines. It brings together the history of traditional rock art, practised for thousands of years, with contemporary works of art. The Aborigines have been painting, singing, dancing and telling their mythological stories for around 40,000 years. Their great myths, known as "Dreams", painted or engraved on rock faces continue to be depicted today on eucalyptus bark using natural pigments, on canvas using acrylic colours and in the form of installations on the ground.

For a long time, Aboriginal art was considered to be "primitive" and was neither researched nor studied. Since the 1930s, however, this trend has been reversed, and we have come to realise that this art, on the contrary, conceals an unsuspected complexity and richness. This exhibition is an opportunity to discover this warmly coloured art and to plunge into the heart of the astonishing world of the Aborigines: the world of Dreams... This event was conceived by the Musée de Préhistoire d'Ile de France (Nemours) and designed by the Musée des Tumulus de Bougon. It features works from the Australian Embassy, the Arts d'Australie-Stéphane Jacob (Paris) and Dad (Mantes la jolie) galleries, the Musée du Malgré-Tout in Treignes (Belgium), the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle in Lyon and a private collection. The exhibition will be opened by Jean-Marie Morisset, in the presence of Jane Madden, Minister of the Australian Embassy and Permanent Delegate of Australia to UNESCO, on Thursday 11 May at 6pm.