Dressed-Up Termite Mounds

There is a peculiar tradition among the people of Australia’s Northern Territory of dressing up termite mounds to make them look more distinctive, or at least more humorous. This custom is most notable along the Stuart Highway between Darwin and Alice Springs. Ian Hance is working on documentaing the mounds and painting their portraits for his master’s thesis in visual art at Charles Darwin University. 

Mr Hance said there was a high concentration of dressed mounds along the highway between Katherine and Larrimah, along with large clusters around Threeways Roadhouse and Alice Springs.

"Many have a sexual element to them, while others appear to be brandishing a political statement or were created by tourists to commemorate their travels in the region," he said said.

He said among his 350 photos were mounds dressed as soldiers with sticks for guns, tradesmen wearing hi-visibility clothing, and even a biblical reference to Michelangelo's Madonna and Child sculpture.

Hance also has a website where people are encouraged to send in pictures of dressed termite mounds they’ve photographed.  -via Arbroath

(Images credit: Ian Hance)


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