Aboriginal art techniques

By Darun Konda
 Symbols
Aboriginal artworks are often telling a story.Their history is often passed down through
art, story telling, dances and songs. Sometimes the story tells us about the Dreamtime.
The Dreamtime tells of the beginning of the world and Australia. Of ancient beings who
once walked this land and shaped the earth.Sometimes the artworks are maps
showing important landmarks and clues for survival.Other artworks show individual
stories. Each person in Aboriginal culture had a totem. It could be an animal such as the
honey ant or a plant, like the yam. It was their responsibility to look after their totem to
keep it healthy and in balance within that ecosystem. A lot of these symbols are gonna
be shown in the picture below.
 Rarrk
Rarrk is a technique often used by artists in the Northern parts of
Australia such as Arnhem Land.It is similar to cross hatching where the
lines cross over one another, similar to woven fabric. The lines travelling
in one direction are often a different colour to the lines crossing over
them. The background of this slide is an example of Rarrk. As the lines
move in one direction and look like they were woven together.
 The earliest visible Kimberley rock art Bradshaw
paintings are known as 'Naturalistic'
this art was formerly known as
'Bradshaws'. Another style is the
human forms of art as well as the
Painted hand motifs. Finally, the
Wandjina paintings which depict the
spirit ancestors and their
representation in form, forming a
continuous Aboriginal tradition dating
to the last 4000 years. The background
in this slide is an example of Bradshaw
art.Most figures have a deep
purple-red hue, mulberry color, or a red
to yellow-brown color. However, there
are rare examples of multi-colored
figures that retain some yellow and
white pigment.
 Thank you for listening 4P!

I hope you learnt something about aboriginal art techniques!

Bye for now!