Aboriginal art

For tens of thousands of years until the present day, Aboriginal people have recorded dreaming stories as well as the activities of the past and present in rock art, bark paintings, wood carvings and sand drawings.

Art is an integral part of Aboriginal life. It was and continues to be an important aspect of religion, the expression of belief and sacred representation of the creation and the workings of the universe.

Basically there are three types of art: personal art, social art and sacred or ritual art.

Aboriginal artists utilised natural earth pigments of red iron ochre, yellow ochre, charcoal and white clay. These were mixed with water or animal oils to adhere to the surface of the object to be painted. Various techniques were used to apply the ochre including rubbing ochre into incised designs, spraying from the mouth, application by brushes made from twigs were chewed to form a soft pliable brush.

Much of the art expresses the artist's dreaming, which embraces the activities of spirit ancestors and the artist's relationship with their particular ‘country’.

Body Art
Scarring of both men and women generally occurred at various stages of initiation. Painted body designs are integral to the dances performed at ceremonies for initiation, funerals and religious rites. During ceremonies all participants paint or smear their bodies with ochre or white clay, which is considered to be sacred.

In Victoria paint was applied by smearing the body with ochre mixed with animal fat. Designs symbolised totems and clan identity. These designs were also incised onto weapons such as shields and clubs.

In Victoria today cultural performers still practice the art of body painting.

Rock Art
Aboriginal people painted images on rocks of their dreaming stories, their life and law. The majority of rock paintings were made in shelters where they were protected from the weather by an overhang.

Rock paintings feature non-figurative designs of symbols and tracks, figurative designs of humans, animals and other objects and more complex figurative designs. Many paintings have religious significance and are said to be the painted images of spirit ancestors.

Techniques used included drawing with dry pebbles, finger painting, painting using brushes of chewed twig, rubbing ochre over the rock surface by hand, splattering ochre onto the wall, stencilling a design onto the surface by pressing a hand or other object against the wall and blowing paint through the mouth.

Rock paintings are still very important to Aboriginal people. Many of the paintings represent religious images and contain the spiritual energy of the creative ancestors.