Members of Australia’s last nomadic tribe, the Spinifex People, have travelled from the remote regions of the Nullarbor Plain to hold their first international art exhibition in London.

The Pila Nguru exhibition depicts the Spinifex People’s ancient ties to their native desert land, expressed through traditional aboriginal dot paintings.

The Spinifex People made modern Australian history in 2000 as the first Aborigines to be awarded native title in Australia. The title was for 55,000 square kilometers of land in the Great Victoria Desert. Spinifex Arts Project coordinator Dr Peter Twigg told ABC London that the art project started in 1997 when the Spinifex People’s native title claim was being processed. “Out of the documentation process came the art project,” Dr Twigg said. “It was a very good vehicle to tell the outside world about the land that they own, that they are very knowledgeable of and they’re very proud of it.”

The Spinifex People had no reported contact with any non-Aboriginal people until they were forced to leave their land when nuclear testing began half a century ago. A spokesperson for the Australian Government of the National Native Title Tribunal said, “Many of the 21 family groups constituting the Spinifex People had their first contact with non-Aboriginal people as a result of patrols associated with the Maralinga atomic bomb tests in the 1950s.”

Dr Twigg says that international patrons to the gallery have shown great interest in the Spinifex People’s story, depicted in their traditional art form.

The owner of the gallery, Rebecca Hossack, said: “They have proved that their culture couldn’t be destroyed by the bomb, it’s a huge lesson to not dwell in the past but move on and become stronger from it.”

Australian Aborigines had no constitutional rights until 1967. It wasn’t until 1995 that the tribes had in place the constitutional avenue and legal support to make a formal application to the Australian Government for land rights.