Welcome to the Aboriginal Art of the Northern Territory blog. Aboriginal art is a unique art form, which has developed in Australia over thousands of years and continues to flourish today. This blog is written by an art dealer based in Australia and it covers all aspects of aboriginal art from the earliest rock carvings to contemporary pieces by aboriginal artists who are still alive today. The blog will provide you with a new insight into aboriginal culture and history.
The Aboriginal art of the Northern Territory is something special. The vibrancy of colour, the strong use of geometric shapes and the often powerful themes make this art a fascination for many people. And whilst there are many compelling reasons to collect this art, it can also be a good way to bring some of the culture home with you.
Treat yourself to something special from Australia.
In Australia, one of the first places where aboriginal art was exhibited was in Melbourne. This exhibition, which also featured sculpture and painting, was held at the National Gallery of Victoria. The art pieces featured in this exhibition were painted by aboriginal artists from a number of different tribes.
The oldest form of aboriginal art on display at the exhibition was a cave painting that dated back to 20,000 years ago. The most recent work belonged to a more recent culture known as the Western Desert Art Movement.
Titled “Bringing the Culture Home,” this exhibition highlighted more than 500 works of art belonging to more than 100 different artists. It highlighted not only paintings but also works done on canvas and bark paper.*
Aboriginal art of the Northern Territory is often referred to as rock art, but this name is something of a misnomer. Rock art certainly features in Aboriginal art of the Northern Territory. However, it also includes paintings, sculptures, wood carvings and other pieces of art created by Aboriginal artists.
There are many different Aboriginal art styles in the Northern Territory, each with its own unique characteristics. Some paintings are simple depictions of an animal or human figure, while others are more elaborate and include themes like mythology and ceremony. Wood carvings and sculptures are also popular among Aboriginal artists, who use these mediums to create intricate three-dimensional pieces.
Tjala Arts – a non-profit organisation which promotes contemporary Aboriginal art – provides a comprehensive resource for anyone interested in purchasing Aboriginal art or learning more about this fascinating area of Australian culture.
Aboriginal art is a fascinating, beautiful and complex topic. Many people are interested in indigenous art but they don’t know where to start, this blog aims to show you the best of the artwork, its history and its styles.
The art at the Nourlangie Rock Art Precinct is much more complex than at Ubirr and consists of some of the most impressive rock art in Australia. As you walk into the precinct you will notice that it is always cool and shady under the trees.
Aboriginal people have been living in this area for over 30,000 years, so it’s no wonder that this inspiring landscape has been the backdrop for some of Australia’s greatest rock art.
The Nourlangie Rock Art Precinct is not just an incredible gallery of Aboriginal art, but also a beautiful part of the natural environment . The area includes many walking tracks and an easy going track to view the site from afar. It is also a great area for birdwatching as well as picnicking and camping. The Nourlangie Campsite provides basic amenities such as drinking water, toilets, a picnic shelter and barbecues.
In fact Nourlangie means “place of stone” or “place with caves” in the local language. The word comes from two words: noura meaning stone and langi meaning place or locality. When words are joined together like this in the local Aboriginal language, they are connected by what looks like a tiny dash below them
The paintings are very strong in my mind. I think that many of the didgeridoo designs were painted by the same man, they all have a similar “handwriting”. So this art is not just painted by one person.
I asked Pete about the meaning of some of the paintings and he said that some are sacred and can only be seen by initiated men, but most of them tell stories from their dreamtime. The stories are about how their ancestors got fire, how light came into the world, how honey bees were created and so on.
Tjeerd said that these two paintings show two characters who were sent out from “the creator” to find a place for the people to live. The black lines represent the two men going out into the world. They climbed over hills and mountains until they came to a big body of water (Uluru) and then went further south until they found a place where they could make a fire (this painting). Then they found good food to eat and made a fire to cook it on. The dots in this painting represent the currants which grew there at that time. Tjeerd said that if you go back far enough in time all Aboriginal people originally came from Uluru.”
