Color: Ochre | Place: Uluru, Australia

Pigments tell the story of our world. Our planet is approximately 4.5 billion years old. It formed from residue of galactic collisions into the heavenly body we call Earth. As tectonic plates began to settle, planet Earth began to form a thin crust of earth, like a cosmic crème brûlée. And with this crust, life and art as we know it began.

Ochre (iron oxide) is a naturally occurring clay pigment found all over the world and is the oldest known pigment. Its hue has a range from yellow, red, purple, brown, sienna, and umber. Its use dates back to the Paleolithic, and it has been used on every inhabited continent since its discovery. Because it is a mineral, it doesn’t wash away, which has allowed early man’s cave paintings to exist today. Ochre pigments are plentiful across Australia and occur in many archaeological sites. The practice of ochre painting has been prevalent among Indigenous Australian people for over 40,000 years. Native Americans amongst others used it for body paint, and Aboriginal communities still use it as a form of currency.

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