Dressed-up termite mounds reveal the Australian Outback's secrets

The quirky tradition of decorating termite mounds in in Australia's Northern Territory is now being documented by visual arts student, Ian Hance, at Charles Darwin University. Mr Hance said he had driven up and down the Stuart Highway many times and spotted mounds up to two metres tall wearing items such as masks, hats, bottles, bras, helmets, goggles, sticks and wheels.



"We're hardwired to find facial features in the termite mounds when we look at them so dressing them up to look more human is a natural progression," he said. "There is obviously an amusing element to them that is typical of Aussie humour, but some of these mounds appear to be more sinister."





Mr Hance is painting portraits of the mounds, which he photographed between Darwin and Alice Springs. As part of his Masters degree, Mr Hance has also created a website for the public to anonymously share their experiences of creating or viewing dressed-up termite mounds.



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," he said. He added that dressing up the mounds did not cause any harm to the termites.