First Nation's Art

Dot paintings are now internationally recognised as unique and integral to Australian First Nations 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. We acknowledge that dot painting existed on shields, bodies and boomerangs - even woomeras pre contact. Then just over 50 years ago 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 doors. The murals sparked incredible interest in the community. He incited them to paint these stories onto canvas and board using the traditional dot style. Soon many of the men began painting as well.