History Of Australian Aboriginal Paintings

Aboriginal civilisation dates from 60,000 to 80,000 years ago. This was when the first Aborigines arrived in Australia. In the still recognisable rock art that dates back over 20,000 years, the first signs of Aboriginal ethos or theory is clear. Ochres were used on rocks to paint. Archaeologists have been able to date remains and finds from discoveries of primal campsites as far back as 40,000 to 60,000 years.

For Australian Aboriginal people’s paintings, there is no written language, but through their artwork it is represented by symbols/icons in order to communicate their essential cultural stories through the centuries. To preserve their culture, it is imperative to pass on knowledge. Indigenous art through Australian aboriginal paintings is based on telling stories. It is used as a chronicle to transmit knowledge of the Aboriginal people's territory, events and beliefs.

An alternative way to write down stories of cultural importance, teach survival and usage of the land is to use symbols. Depending on the viewer, the meanings of the iconography vary.

How Australian aboriginal paintings started?

While ochres were used as body paint by Australian Aboriginals, it wasn't until the 1930s that the first paintings were made on bark and rocks for tens of thousands of years.

At the Hermannsburg mission near Alice Springs, these were not carried out in ochre or dot art, but in watercolor. They exemplified desert landscapes. In 1937, the first exhibition was by Albert Namatjira, the most prominent of the first aboriginal watercolour painters. In Adelaide, his exhibition was held.

Watercolours were primarily used by artists until the early 1970s. Ochre and bark paintings started to become open to non-indigenous admirers, and an art and craft centre was established at the Ernabella mission in 1948.

Australian Aboriginal paintings were typically drawn on rock walls, ritual articles, as body paint, and most notably drawn together with songs or stories in dirt or sand. On canvas and paper, the artwork we see today started just 50 years ago.

Then and Now

In 1971, a school teacher named Geoffrey Bardon worked in Papunya, near Alice Springs, with Aboriginal children. He found they would draw patterns in the sand when the Aboriginal men were telling stories. He urged them to use canvas and board to paint the stories. This started the popular movement of Aboriginal art. For indigenous people, it was a big leap to begin painting their stories on western façades, which was a very alien idea for them. The most exciting modern art style of the 20th Century has since been known as Australian Aboriginal Art. Aboriginal artists require permission for individual tales to be drawn.

Wrapping Up

If you are interested in Australian aboriginal paintings you can check out the collection at Warrina Design.