Australian Aboriginal art is the oldest living art tradition in the world, with paintings in rock shelters dating back tens of thousands of years. The art includes naturalistic paintings of human, plant and animal figures, as well as non-naturalistic or "abstract" designs.

Aboriginal art has no written language and relies on story telling through paintings, to pass on knowledge from one generation to another. Rock art gives us descriptive information about social activities, culture, environmental change, and myth and religion.

Aboriginals relied on the earth to meet all their needs, including their art materials. Different ochres and clays provided most of the colours for painting.

Aboriginal art involves myths, story telling, rituals, sorcery, and magic, where the artist describes their Dreaming, the stories of creation, their beliefs, and their spirituality.

The contemporary tribal art of Australia's aboriginal people has many forms of expression. Principal ones are paintings, carvings, statuary, and basketry. Northern tribes traditionally paint on bark, although archival paper is growing in popularity. Desert tribes customarily paint on canvas although older paintings were done on art board. Northern and Island tribes produce carvings, and basketry is done in both Desert and Northern settlements. Most are derived in some way from the ancient traditions of body painting and rock painting.

As in the past Indigenous Australian arts today are as diverse as the people that make them. Many artists work in introduced media, such as acrylic, fabric, or print making.

 

 

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