Aboriginal societies in Australia have a rich and long history that is centered around nature, spirituality, and storytelling. Aboriginal dot painting is an art form that is part of their indigenous culture. These paintings reflect the authentic indigenous culture of the aboriginal tribes in Australia and portray detailed traditional stories of the tribe through their intricate and expressive designs.
Origin of the Art
Aboriginal dot painting of Australia has a long history of thousands of years, starting from the ancient rock paintings. The men among aboriginals were storytellers, and they often drew pictures on the soil to effectively narrate their stories. This tactic of description led to drawing on the rocks to narrate Dreamtime stories specific to the aboriginal culture, religion, and part of its sacred rituals. Aboriginal nations are reserved about their stories. They refuse to share it with other cultures. So, the popularisation of the dot painting took a long time. The early aboriginal dot paintings portrayed sacred ceremonies and rituals of the community. But as time went by, the influence of abstract ideas was visible in the dot paintings. And later, it emerged as a unique style of painting, with the sacred parts still being a secret.
Aboriginal Dot Paintings
Dot paintings from aboriginal cultures usually tell indigenous stories through shapes, colors, and patterns. It is almost an artwork in 3D form. These paintings of intricate nature depict stories and other subjects related to Aboriginal society. These dot paintings exhibit Aborginals’ strong connection with their land and culture. For generations, natural colors of charcoal, clay, and ochre were used to compose these paintings. When the style got popularised, acrylic colors were used for painting which made them more bright and vivid. Today, these dot paintings are considered the whimsical display of the indigenous culture of the aboriginal community in the finest form.
Unique Features
The tradition of dot painting is not prevalent in all aboriginal nations. Those having this tradition utilize different creative styles too. Some use ingrained and bold dot formations to showcase the stories they have heard from their ancestors, while some other artists follow an intricate style. The main commonality in the paintings from different communities is that they tell stories through shapes, patterns, and colors. It is these stories that shaped today’s aboriginal communities and their cultures. Dot paintings depicting these stories focus on all aspects of the aboriginal life, from their daily activities to their sacred rituals. The semi-abstract style of the artform indicates a dream-like state.
The Dot Artists
Aboriginal dot paintings are mainly created by indigenous artists from different aboriginal communities around the world. Australia has many communities which are producers of this unique art form. They are the masters of this art because painting is a part of their culture. These incredible indigenous paintings are unique among all the Australian art varieties. The popularity of the dot painting increased by the 1970s, and the aboriginal people made use of their creativity to get income. The increased popularity of the artform also instilled a strong feeling in the younger generation to carry forward their tradition by showcasing it to the world. Above all, they can find a way of life through this unique traditional art form. Nowadays, this form of art has entered popular culture and is widely practiced by artists all over the world.