Australian Aboriginal Dot Painting

Aborigional Art

Aboriginal Art has survived for over thousands of years and continues to be one of the oldest art forms practiced today.
Aboriginal Art consists of symbols. These symbols were used as a means of communication; communication of their lives on earth, their rituals, food, customs and also to show constellations and for ritual decorations. These works were almost always ceremonial or religious.

Symbols were used in order to show the presence of different things or objects that existed around them.
Unlike the well-known artists you've studied, Aboriginal artists created their works based on how the land was created,
basing their subject matter mainly on patterns and animals. 
These patterns and symbols were created using only the colours seen in nature, (for instance soil, was seen in tints of reds, yellows and browns ochres. White, clay and charcoal colours were also used from natural materials.
Thousands of years ago, Aboriginals would create their works using only the natural materials left around them, (such as bark, clay, logs, trees, burnt sticks, rocks, etc....

The backgrounds of these art works were never blank. There is always a continuous use of dotting, patterns, lines or hatching to create a sense of movement within the work. These works of art could be labelled as Abstract.

Check Out Some of The Frequent Symbols That Were Used: 
 

Lesson Objective: 

How do I re-create a work of Aborigonal Art 

 

using a symbol to inspire a story?