This Place Artist Series is a partnership between the ABC and the National Gallery of Australia, engaging some of Australia's greatest Indigenous artists to share stories about their work, their country, and their communities.

As part of the ABC's Walking Together reconciliation initiative, producers Marc Eiden and Maddie Whitford reflect on the experience of being on country with six First Nations artists, connecting with Indigenous communities, language and culture.

Pride of Gija Place

Maddie Whitford: In a warm cloud of confusion, we were greeted with big grins from every corner of the Warmun Art Centre in The Kimberley, WA.

Everyone knew we were visiting to collaborate with Mabel Juli, a Gija woman and a loved artist whose work depicts life and stories handed down over many generations.

Stephanie Rajalingam is the manager and she told us that everyone may be wary of us because of an incident just before we arrived.

The warmth from the Sun and the people is the status quo in Warmun but the confusion, as the group sat down to share, was due to a man from a mining company who had been driving around the community.

He had been trying to persuade people to sign a contract that would allow access to traditional sites, to jump in his 4WD and show him to his potential jackpot.

We shared in their frustration and got to know each other a little better over a tea break.

It was important to us that the videos we produced for the This Place Artist Series felt intimate and personal, that they were created collaboratively with the artists, and that their culture, language and stories were treated with care and respect.

The series features six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from the National Gallery of Australia; Yvonne Koolmatrie in Berri, SA, Ken Thaiday Senior and Vernon Ah Kee in Cairns and Innisfail, Qld, Julie Gough in north-east Tasmania, Banduk Marika in Yirrkala, NT and Mabel Juli in Warmun, WA.

A man hunts in Arnhem Land in the NT. ( ABC News )

Despite a very tight production schedule and only a few days' filming with each artist, it was essential we got to know each other outside of the filming process.

We had tea with Vernon Ah Kee's mum, ate freshly caught stingray and mussels with Banduk Marika's family, sat with Yvonne Koolmatrie as she passed on traditional weaving skills to her granddaughter, and stopped at the tree where Mabel Juli's artist brother Rusty Peters was born.

Mabel Juli and her brother Rusty Peters. ( ABC News )

For Ngarrindjeri weaver Yvonne Koolmatrie this video would be her last public statement, so it was incredibly important to us that we got it right, both in the craft of the filmmaking and in her experience of sharing her story with us.

We were led by what worked for the artists: whether they wanted to talk in language, include and involve their families or visit places of deep connection that they wanted to share. We walked together to tell their stories.

So the day after we arrived in Warmun to film Mabel Juli and spent time getting to know members of the community, a group decided it would be suitable to welcome us to country.

We sat in front of the group, and Mabel, after running her hands under the Art Centre kitchen tap, brushed her hands over our heads, shoulders and arms.

As the warm air hit the water on our bodies, it stung cool and crisp.

Rusty said we wouldn't get sick now, we were safe on country, safe to go on a quick trip to Mabel's place of inspiration.

A quick trip "just down the road" promptly turned into a full-day affair.

A critical philosophy that I've experienced in every community I've visited is that if something is to be done properly it must be done together.

Mabel, Rusty, Eileen, Nancy and Tracey all came along for the ride.

Artist Mabel Juli on country in The Kimberley, WA. ( This Place Artist Series )

While managing a sudden change of plans from one "talent" to five isn't particularly straight forward, the life stories shared during the commute were an engaging and emotional lesson I will always be grateful for.

We stopped at birth trees, listening to what being a child on Gija country was like and discussing whether a fuss should be made over birthdays.

None of these elders have specific dates of birth but they have something better, trees to remember their family by and a philosophy that supports a wholesome celebration with loved ones any day of the year.

We asked how they all felt about visiting home and they spoke as loud as I'd heard them speak all week, (except for firmly telling telemarketers based in Melbourne to stop calling their mobiles).

They spoke passionately about how dry the land is now, how the trees are drinking all the water and how the wet season simply isn't wet or productive anymore.

They've seen a huge change in the local seasons and large decline in animals that they once relied on for food.

It was a profound experience and one I'll return to ponder many times over in my life.

The hammerhead shark of Australian art

Indigenous artist Ken Thaiday Senior shows off his six metre hammerhead shark creation. ( ABC News: Marc Eiden )

Marc Eiden: It's not every day you get to meet an artist who envisions riding hammerhead sharks, but that's exactly what Ken Thaiday Senior, world-renowned artist and respected elder from Erub (Darnley) Island in the Torres Strait, does.

Ken is best known for his head dresses, masks, shark totems and kinetic sculptures, which connect to his island traditions and culture.

When I first talked to Ken to see if there was something he was currently working on that we could film for our series, his answer was not what I'd expected.

Our conversation went a little something like this: "Yes brother, I'm working on my totem of a hammerhead shark. I dreamed of this artwork all my life. It's 6 metres long and I want to get inside it and move around."

"Did you say a 6-metre hammerhead shark?" I asked.

"Yes brother. I'm building it so I can place it over me in my wheelchair and ride the hammerhead shark," he said.

"All my life I wanted to do this, and then have my Torres Strait family around me dancing and singing. That would make me very happy."

Maddie Whitford films Ken Thaiday Senior in Cairns. ( ABC News: Marc Eiden )

Ken's warmth, joy and enthusiasm was palpable and I was super excited at the prospect of making a video about him and this work.

So my colleague Maddie Whitford and I headed to Cairns, where Ken lives and works, to start filming.

When we arrived at Ken's home he'd been up all night and was welding together the last parts of his hammerhead shark, a work he says came to him in a vision from God.

We'd planned to film Ken just as he'd envisioned: riding his hammerhead shark, surrounded by family, dancing and singing a song written by his late father.

So we hired a trailer, loaded up the shark, a large Dari (traditional headdress), traditional drums and headed off to his local church.

Ken's family worked together to assemble the shark, and just as his magnificent 6-metre creation was fitted over his body, Mother Nature joined the show. The sky opened and it started to pour.

Not quite what we had in mind, but it wasn't going to stop us from capturing this special moment with Ken and his family.

Ken Thaiday Senior is honoured by members of his family who wear traditional Erub Island dress. ( ABC News )

Ken wheeled himself and shark under a nearby awning, while his family gathered in traditional dress.

As we started filming, I felt very moved.

I was witnessing a family celebration, a deep connection to culture and language through song and dance that had been passed down through generations.