WHEN a rusty old car wreck journeys through Western Australia on the back of a truck, it will bring with it memories of a time gone by. 

Following the wreck in a car convoy will be a troupe of Gija (Warmun) and Miriwoong (Kununurra) artists, performers and musicians. 

The car is the centre of a new performance The Journey Down, which will travel to 12 communities on a 3,456 kilometres trek from Kununurra to the Western Australian Museum in Perth. 

The car is called Warnarral Ngoorrngoorrool – the Gija words for ‘old car’ – and the performance sees the painted-up car transformed into a musical instrument and cultural object. 

Gija cultural advisor and Warmun Arts Centre chair Madeline Purdie, along with local Elders, dancers and Tura New Music have been developing the travelling show over the past few years. 

“The old people at the Warmun arts centre wanted to do more than paint on canvas,” Madeline…