Before Time Began, a saying by Aboriginal artists which is often heard in Central Australia, has different levels of interpretation:

In the concept of the Dreaming, this phrase can be referred to in describing the process of Creation. The idea of a “time out of time” or “everywhen” helps us understand a complex concept innate to Aboriginal culture, whereby the Earth was created by the actions of our ancestors during the Dreaming.

From an art history perspective, the title evokes the origins of contemporary Aboriginal art from a number of isolated regions of Australia, amongst which ancient works from the Arnhem Land and paintings from Papunya dating back to the early seventies.