For Aborigines, dreaming is a way of connecting to the beginning of life.

"I hope the exhibition gives a hint of the power of Aboriginal dreams," says Michael Tucker, curator and poetics professor at the University of Brighton.

It was in the Dreamtime, tens of thousands of years before Captain Cook arrived, that the mountains, deserts, humans and wild animals of Australia are thought to have been created.

This paradise showed the Aboriginal people how to live with the land.

There are bold, earth-coloured pieces on display in Dream Traces.

"The Aboriginal sense of spirituality is linked to the Earth," says Michael.

This is best shown in the two videos of the Bangarra dance theatre company.

Michael explains: "Rather than trying to reach the sky like Western dancers they hug the Earth to stay close to the spirits."

The paintings of these same sacred spirits almost didn't make it to modern times.

With their work mainly painted on bodies and bark, they weren't seen as art because they didn't last.

It wasn't until the Seventies when a young Sydney art teacher persuaded Aboriginal artists to paint in acrylic on board, their paintings enjoyed bigger audiences.

"These are people with a foot in each world," says Michael. "The themes may be old but it's all fresh stuff."

There are sculptures in bronze and aluminium but the stars of the show, still made in traditional materials, are the Larrakitj.

They are eucalyptus trunks, hollowed out by termites.

The Aborigines used to, and sometimes still do, leave their dead outside while the spirits escape.

Years later they keep the bones inside the tubes.

Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 2pm to 5pm (closed bank holidays).

Admission free. Call 01273 643010.