French prehistoric cave replicas inform traditional owners in Juukan Gorge recreation

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Replicas of world heritage listed prehistoric caves in the south of France are providing inspiration for the recreation of the Juukan Gorge rock shelter in Western Australia's Pilbara, destroyed by Rio Tinto in 2020. Traditional owners have been taken behind the scenes and shown how the copies of the Lascaux and Chauvet caves including well preserved animal paintings, were recreated, as they prepare their own project of cultural restoration.

Transcript

00:00Birtual Hayes soaks up the prehistoric cave art all around him.

00:12He's half a world away from his country on the lands of the Bhutu Gunti Guruma people

00:17in the Pilbara.

00:18He and other traditional owners are visiting the World Heritage listed Lascaux and Chauvet

00:23caves in the south of France.

00:24Inside this area, a little bit more than 1,000 representations.

00:30And there's no hand stencils?

00:32Sometimes, but not here.

00:36Front of mind during the tour, the destruction of the most significant cultural site on their

00:41country, the Djugend Gorge Rock Shelter.

00:44Legally destroyed in a mining blast by Rio Tinto in 2020, prompting global condemnation.

00:49It was just like losing that connection to the country, like losing a child.

00:58The Bhutu Gunti Guruma and Binagura people have now embarked on a project to build a replica

01:03of Djugend over the remains of the original.

01:06It's going to fill that void in the landscape.

01:10We'll go back and enjoy it for what it is.

01:14The French caves they saw are also replicas of the originals, which were closed to protect

01:23them from damage by visitors.

01:24It's realistic.

01:26As soon as you walk in, you can feel that vibe of it being spiritual.

01:32Traditional owners also want to recapture the spirit of their ancient site.

01:36The important thing is we need to do it right, proper, the first time, because we may not

01:44get a second chance at this.

01:46It took eight years to meticulously recreate the 8,000 square metres of geological and artistic

01:52features at Chauvet.

01:54And what was the average output a week of a sculptor, or per day?

02:03They said per day, a sculptor will be able to do two square metres a week.

02:08While the French replicas are in purpose-made buildings, the Djugend reproduction will be

02:12outdoors, exposed to the searing heat and wind.

02:17I think it's a very ambitious project, and very interesting technically.

02:21This virtual reality model of Djugend has been created from the memories of traditional

02:25owners and from photos.

02:28Humans and artists wearing VR headsets will transform the digital into reality.

02:33This is what the sculptors will see when they look through the headset.

02:37It'll be like a digital guide for them to make sure that they accurately recreate the

02:41part of the cave that they're working on.

02:43The concrete mix for the new structure will include rubble from the original shelter.

02:47Not just for the colouring, but also because the original cave needs to be in the concrete.

02:55That's symbolic.

02:56That's the spirit of it.

02:58Engineering and design insights too from Lascaux and Chauvet.

03:02We've been able to learn from what's happened here in France from the reconstruction phase.

03:09And we're going to be better informed on what it is that will do.

03:14A long road ahead to heal the damage done.

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