These art works could show dots, cross hatching, maps of circles, spirals, lines and dashes which is the long established pictorial language of Western Desert Aboriginal People.
Aboriginal artworks painted in acrylic are a beautiful blend of traditional and contemporary. The dot technique gives the painting an almost 3D effect and a sense of movement and rhythm. Many people comment that the paintings look alive and that they literally seem to jump out at you. The flat canvas comes to life with energy and vivacity just like the dreamings and rituals that inspired them.
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Aboriginal Dot Art
Dot paintings are now internationally recognised as unique and integral to Australian Aboriginal Art. The simple dot style as well as cross hatching maybe beautifully aesthetic to the eye but has a far more hidden meaning and deeper purpose; to disguise the sacred meanings behind the stories in the paintings.
Before Indigenous Australian art was ever put onto canvas the Aboriginal people would smooth over the soil to draw sacred designs which belonged to that particular ceremony. Body paint was also applied which held meanings connected to sacred rituals. These designs were outlined with circles and encircled with dots.
Uninitiated people never got to see these sacred designs since the soil would be smoothed over again and painted bodies would be washed. This was not possible with paintings. Aboriginal artists abstracted their paintings to disguise the sacred designs so the real meanings could not be understood by Westerners.
Dot painting originated 40 years ago back in 1971. Geoffrey Bardon was assigned as an art teacher for the children of the Aboriginal people in Papunya, near Alice Springs. He noticed whilst the Aboriginal men were telling stories they would draw symbols in the sand.
Bardon encouraged his students to paint a mural based on traditional dreamings on the school walls. The murals sparked incredible interest in the community. He incited them to paint the stories onto canvas and board. Soon many of the men began painting as well.
At first they used cardboard or pieces of wood, which was later replaced by canvas.
This began the famous Papunya Tula Art Movement.
Bardon helped the Aboriginal artists transfer depictions of their stories from desert sand to paint on canvas.
The Aboriginal artists soon became concerned that the sacred-secret objects they painted were being seen not only by Westerners, but Aboriginal people from different regions that were not privy to their tribal stories. They did not want them to understand or learn the sacred, restricted parts of their stories so the artists decided to eliminate the sacred elements and abstracted the designs into dots to conceal their sacred meanings.
Early Papunya paintings showed strong representations of artefacts, ritual objects and spiritual ceremonies. This style disappeared within a few years.
The first paintings to come from the Papunya Tula School of Painters were never intended to be sold. They were purely created by the Aboriginal people who were displaced, and living a long way from their original home country. The works were visual reminders of their own being. They painted land that they belonged to and the stories that are associated with those sites. In essence they were painting their identity onto the boards, as a visual assertion of their identity and origins. Originally colours were restricted to variations of red, yellow, black and white produced from ochre, charcoal and pipe clay. Later acrylic mediums were introduced allowing for more vivid colourful paintings.
These art works could show dots, cross hatching, maps of circles, spirals, lines and dashes which is the long established pictorial language of Western Desert Aboriginal People.
Aboriginal artworks painted in acrylic are a beautiful blend of traditional and contemporary. The dot technique gives the painting an almost 3D effect and a sense of movement and rhythm. Many people comment that the paintings look alive and that they literally seem to jump out at you. The flat canvas comes to life with energy and vivacity just like the dreamings and rituals that inspired them.
Back to Dreamtime Art Library
Aboriginal Art
The Lam Museum collection includes this Aboriginal dot painting by Mingi May Barnes.
In the Northern Territory, cave art made by Aboriginal people is thought to be about 60,000 years old, making it the oldest art in the world. Today, authentic Aboriginal art can only be created by an Aboriginal artist. If a non-Indigenous Australian creates art using Aboriginal symbols and techniques, it is not considered Aboriginal art. Fake Aboriginal art is a huge problem. Click here to see a feature from 60 Minutes Australia about a fake Aboriginal art scam.
Dot Painting
This Aboriginal dot painting by Mingi May Barnes is also in the Lam Museum collection.
Dot painting is one of the most recognized forms of Aboriginal art. People think it is just simple dots, animals, and fine lines but it is much more than that. Aboriginal artists use symbols, images, and meticulous rules to create dot paintings that tell stories. If a story has historical or sacred information, an artist needs permission before they can paint it. Dot paintings are the visual stories of the Aboriginal people.
Historically, Aboriginal people of central and western Australia created “paintings” on the sand using rocks, flowers, sticks, seeds, and feathers. These paintings were full of sacred symbols, images, and meaning. As elders created the sand paintings, they sang songs and told stories about Aboriginal history, religion, traditions, and beliefs. Sand paintings were temporary, but eventually they became modern day dot paintings.
This Aboriginal bark painting from the Lam Museum collection is unusual because of its black background.
A more permanent form of sand painting was creating the work on tree bark. Painting on bark was first done on shelters, but in the 1920s Aboriginal artists were encouraged to recreate the paintings from shelters on small pieces of tree bark that could be sold to tourists and collectors. Click here to see Aboriginal artist Banduk Marika talk about her bark painting.
In the 1970s, European artists helped Aboriginal artists turn the sacred symbols and images from sand paintings into dots which could be painted on canvas, canvas board or sheeting. After that, works could be sold and shipped all over the world. Today, dot paintings appear on Aboriginal instruments, everyday objects, buildings, vehicles, and all types of tourist objects.
This coolamon (shallow wooden vessel) from the Lam Museum education collection is decorated with dot painting.
Whether dot paintings are created on tree bark, canvas, or objects they all share common elements. Dot paintings tell a story, the symbols and images have meaning, there is a connection between the artist and the work, and to be authentic they are created by an Aboriginal artist. Click here to see Aboriginal artist Nellie Marks Nakamarra create a dot painting.
Let’s Create a Dot Painting!
To get an idea what you’d like to create, you can search for more Aboriginal Dot paintings online. Then using the animal and symbols sheets we’ve provided, have fun creating your own dot painting!
Here’s what you’ll need:
• Animal templates (Download here)
• Aboriginal symbol’s sheets (Download here)
• Canvas board, canvas sheets or wooden board
• Newspaper or plastic
• Craft paints
• Paintbrushes
• Q-tips
• Water container
• Paper towels
• Paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
