Aboriginal Painting

The oldest surviving aboriginal paintings are found on rocks and in caves showing geometric patterns, hand print stencils, footprints and animal designs.

These later developed to more complex designs depicting humans, hunting scenes, and rituals.

Different traditions developed: In Arnhem Land lively figures which appear to be racing on the surface of the rocks are used.

Guyon figures of the North West done with red ochre, are elongated and elegant with long limbs and appear to be floating or dancing in a trance like state.

Wuruluwurulu tradition depict mischievous figures of red ochre, such as the Mimi, on their own or cutting across other drawings as if to challenge them.

The X-ray style of Aboriginal painting depicts humans and animals as if they were transparent is not fully understood but one line of thinking is that they represented hunting rituals.

Wandjina images depict ancestor spirits from the sea and the sky who visit, then are absorbed into the rocks. These figures can be up to 7 metres tall. This tradition continues today as the Aboriginal people take care of these spirits by updating and renewing the paintings so as not to upset the spirits.

Rock art provides a history of the Aboriginal people as it continued up to modern times with drawings of Indonesian and European ships, animals and people.

Ground art from Central Australia is a continuous tradition with the patterns being passed on to the next generation.

These drawings and sculptures usually trace the journeys and adventures of the ancestor spirits.

In the early 1970’s the Papunya people created a new art by transferring this traditional style onto canvas using acrylic medium, it has become most popular with collectors, and is now known as Western Desert art.

Aboriginal artists originally used rock, shields, sculptures, instruments, body, baskets and bark to paint on. Under modern influence and times they now tell their stories on board and canvas as well.

Bark paintings are paintings made on pieces of flattened bark taken from trees.

The designs seen on authentic bark paintings are traditional designs that are owned by the artist, or his or her "skin", or clan, and cannot be painted by other artists. Artists would paint designs on the bark walls and roofs of their shelters.

Body Painting is still very much alive, the people would cover their bodies in elaborate and exquisite decorations prior to ceremonies or traditional dances. The preparation can take many hours, and the finest artists will be sought after for this.

The designs are traditional, often involving fine cross-hatching and lines of dots, which are owned by the clan of the person who is being decorated.

Contemporary art has continued the mythical representations of landscapes or conceptual maps of designs wrought by ancestors.

In this tradition, paintings, sculpture, dances and songs relating to the Dreamtime are repeating the work of Ancestors, thus keeping the Dreaming alive.

No article on Australian Aboriginal painting could fail to mention the unbelievably talented Albert Namatjira (1902-59) who captured the Australian landscape to perfection.

Please enjoy one of his works, Blue Haze over James Range.

Arts - Crafts - Gifts - Posters

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