Indigenous Art, Culture and Design
Jade Turczynowicz

Indigenous art considers personal expressions which are reflected through the richness and holistic diversity across Indigenous culture (Australian Government, 2007). Some examples which appear to have inspired Indigenous art include traumatic events from past experiences, kinships, languages, dialects, totemic relationships, geographical landscapes and other aspects of life within the Dreaming (Edwards, 1998). The earliest Indigenous art included paintings or engravings on rock shelters and caves: these expressions of art are considered by Aboriginal people to be sacred sites. Art has continuously been a fundamental aspect of Indigenous life by connecting Indigenous people to historical aspects of their past and present (Australian Government, 2007).

In week seven, we visited the Desert Psychedelic, and Fire and Clay exhibitions at Tandanya. We were unable to take pictures due to copyright issues, but I managed to find representations of the artworks online. The Desert Psychedelic exhibition focuses on stories told by a variety of artists who expressed deep connections with identity and land through their artworks. The paintings focus on desert landscapes which represent the essence of Aboriginal sacred sites and illustrate their strong spiritual beliefs. I found all the artworks very beautiful, as they represented a fundamental part of each of the artist’s lives according to Aboriginal culture (Government of South Australia, 2012).

The artwork which I considered most fascinating was designed by an artist named Jimmy Pike. Jimmy Pike was born in 1940, and grew up in the Great Sandy Desert learning traditional Walmajarri culture during his childhood. During the late 1970‘s, Jimmy began taking art classes. From viewing different pieces of his artwork, I formed the opinion that his early childhood strongly influenced him and helped him develop and understand traditional Aboriginal art whilst being exposed to it numerous times as he grew up. This seems to have inspired his passion for taking up art classes to develop a wider range of artistic skills. Reflecting on his artwork, I came to the conclusion that he experienced a strong social influence from his early childhood experiences around the Great Sandy Desert (Government of South Australia [SA], 2012).

 

Figure 1: Pike, J 2005, Country, painting, held at The Australian Art Print Network, Sydney.

Ideas around Totemic animals which he would have learned through stories, led him to incorporate and express the way he viewed these animals. For example, the painting in Figure 1 is called Jila Japingka:  Japingka means the main living water for desert people. This artwork expresses the story of six brothers who were living amongst the Japingka. When two women came to the brothers, the brothers were turned into a snake, and were dragged down into a waterhole. The brothers nourished the ground with water, which made the ground grow damp, and clouds developed out of the ground (The Australian Art Print Network, 2010).

This Psychedelic piece by Jimmy Pikes is striking and expresses different emotions through a variety of colours (The Australian Art Print Network, 2010). A wide range of Jimmy Pike’s vibrant and unique Indigenous art was shown at this exhibition: I found it interesting that some of his black and white paintings were also showcased, and provided a strong contrast with his vibrant and colourful paintings.

Figure 2: Photograph by the author, 2012, held at The South Australia Museum, Adelaide.

During week two, we visited the SA Museum. A variety of traditional objects used in Aboriginal art were presented. The exhibition represents every aspect of Aboriginal culture, and the Museum showcases a range of artefacts including original belongings that were owned and used by Aboriginal people. The Museum presented a diverse variety of Aboriginal objects which gave me a sense of the difficulty of living in these conditions without the use of technology, as everything was hand crafted. What I thought was especially beautiful, was that the SA Museum shows a large variety of objects used among Aboriginal people. This also shows respect towards Aboriginal art and design by highlighting its importance and their impact on Aboriginal people.

Medicines such as red ochre were used by Aboriginal people for healing purposes. Some of these medicines were applied to the skin or breathed in as vapour. I found the range of different medicines fascinating because they have influenced the wide range of medicines we have today. It is interesting that Aboriginal medicine men and women who heal the sick in their communities are held in high regard, as they are seen to possess special knowledge and therefore to be in high authority.

The objects pictured below (Figures 3 and 4) were specially made for Aboriginal ceremonies and include bird feathers and animal fur, as well as wood. Some of these ceremonial headdresses are very vibrant and colourful, and were hand made by women using ostrich feathers and other locally sourced materials. Creation of ceremonial attire is one of the traditional roles women often perform.

Figure 3: Photograph by the author, 2012, held at The South Australia Museum, Adelaide.

Figure 4: Photograph by the author, 2012, held at The South Australia Museum, Adelaide.

Aboriginal clothing is worn to show a person’s status within their community, for example, whether they are married, widowed or initiated. For ritual occasions, body decorations and ornamentation can be extremely elaborate, often making the wearer unrecognisable. The clothes are made using a variety of feathers, animal fur and skin, and thin strands of strong bark from trees (Australian Government, 2008). Aboriginal people only take what they need, this means that nothing is wasted.  I respect this aspect of Aboriginal culture and admire their strong connection to land and desire to preserve it.

Figure 5: Photograph by the author, 2012, held at The South Australia Museum, Adelaide.

Gathering food successfully means understanding the local environment and knowing when and where to look for different foods:  this demonstrates Aboriginal people’s strong connection to land, as they have a well developed knowledge of where to hunt and gather food. Figure 5 (above) shows a diverse variety of foods showcased by the SA Museum, including sea slug, honey, bunyg pine nut, snake, snail shells, macadamia nuts, honey ants, root bark, moth grubs, bush banana, grasshoppers, termites, palm seed and damper. Males hunt and bring back kangaroos and other wild animals for consumption by the group, whereas women traditionally gather small foods from the ground, including fruits and vegetables (Australian Government, 2008).

References

Australian Government, 2007, Australian Indigenous Art, viewed 16^th October 2012, http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-indigenous-art.

Australian Government, 2008, Australian Indigenous Ceremony - song, music and dance, viewed 15^th October 2012, <http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austn-indigenous-ceremony>.

Edwards, W.H. (1998). An Introduction to Aboriginal Societies. 2nd  edition.  Australia: Cengage.

Figure 1: http://www.aboriginalartprints.com.au/works_enlargement.php?work_id=466

Figures 2-5: http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/

Tandanya, 2012, Desert Psychedelic: Jimmy Pike. South Australia: Government of South Australia.

The Australian Art Print Network, 2010, Jimmy Pike, viewed 15^th October 2012, <http://www.aboriginalartprints.com.au/works_enlargement.php?work_id=485>.