As Alice Springs becomes a flashpoint in national politics, Indigenous artists in one of the town's best-known arts centres are letting their paintbrushes do the talking.
At the Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands Art Centre, descendants of the famed artist Albert Namatjira use his watercolour landscape style to make art that responds to issues the community faces.
While soulful landscapes are still part of the composition, there's political commentary on issues from crime and drinking to fracking in the Northern Territory.
The new style is painted on discarded street signs found around Alice Springs, also known as Mparntwe.
On a recent visit to the centre, artist Vanessa Inkamala showed off an old Neighbourhood Watch sign - with its well-known blue silhouette of a police officer - she over-painted with a view of Alice Springs at sunset, with a police vehicle dominating the scene.
"It's about the kids leaving houses and walking on the streets stealing cars," she told AAP.
Her sister Dianne Inkamala is working on a Hazchem sign painted with images of a VB stubby and a bottle of Bundaberg rum.
"The message is don't drink grog. That's why I painted this one," she told AAP.
"I lost a lot of family from grog."
There are other issues too. Outside the centre is a mural painted with the slogan "Don't frack the NT".
Signs that would usually direct people about private property and traffic have been subverted to send messages too, with art that tells stories about country, cultural practices and customary lore.
Days after AAP's visit, Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton travelled to Alice Springs to speak on the issues facing the community, but those at the art centre were unaware he was in town.
The new style was developed about two years ago, according to centre director Marisa Maher, and has generated much interest.
"They are not as popular as the watercolours but they are heading in that direction," she told AAP.
Depending on the primer, the street signs can be painted over with acrylics, or the watercolours the artists are known for.
"I think it's important for the artists to understand the different stories that they can tell," Maher said.
Artists at the centre include Mervyn Rubuntja, Selma Coulthard and other members of the Inkamala family.
Their works in the new style were first exhibited at the 2022 Sydney Biennale.
AAP travelled with the assistance of Tourism NT.
