Aboriginal Art work also known as Indigenous Australian Art is that made by indigenous Australian people. It is outstanding, authentic and it is mostly based on ancient and cotemporary stories. It is among the oldest art forms that are still surviving and is in practice till date. It has managed to cross over through centuries to awe art lovers in this day and age. Prehistoric forms of artistic expression included ground designs, body paintings and ground carvings which are backdated to over 30, 000 ago. It’s rich and diverse in culture with striking Australian qualities and varieties.
The differences between geographical landscapes, dialects and tribes that they represent are distinct. The aboriginal life has always held art in high esteem looking at it as a connection between pasts and the present, people and their land, reality and the supernatural world. The varieties of mediums used are wide ranging from glass, fiber, canvas and paper works. Recently introduced media for instance glassware, ceramics, fabric printing and printmaking have managed to complement the traditional crafts by adding that contemporary touch and feel and serving as a bridge joining ancient art forms to the current art world and age group.
These forms of art are made to describe personal stories, experiences and histories of their artists. They reflect customary trading outlines, church and governmental influences and survival stories and struggles. Indigenous art is prominent because of effort and motivation on the part of Aboriginal and Torres Islander artists especially painters who strived to introduce this art to Australia and the whole world to their culture. The market for Aboriginal artefacts grew after colonization by both non-indigenous and indigenous people. Earliest forms of art were engravings and paintings made on walls and boulders of caves and rock shelters using red ochre.
The old images are deemed sacred by the indigenous people and they display continual ancestral presence. The Western Desert Movement saw Australian locals adapting to Western mediums and styles and this art movement flourished to form the current art industry that generates over $200 million annually in Australia. The dot painting style is the commonest but it isn’t the only. A vast collection of sculptures, weavings and bark paintings are found at the Australian National Gallery. The Aboriginal Memorial is yet another display of art from 43 artists commemorating Australians that died in defense of their country during European Settlement.
Today it is recognized and accessible internationally having embraced technological advances. It is appealing, different, ancient, cultural, decorative and utilitarian. It has allowed and promoted the passing on of cultural knowledge to the whole country and also worldwide. It is the eye that has let in foreigners into indigenous cultures and beliefs which would have otherwise been long forgotten by the new generation. Original paintings have been redone constantly through stenciling. They show paint layers that have been applied carefully through the decades. Their art is regional, vibrant in color and it is their language of communication since they do not have a written one other than through songs and paintings.