Aboriginal Art Viewing Task Part 1- Students Work 

As a part of the Aboriginal Cross-Curriculum, students in Year 7 RISE English learned the literary devices of symbols and symbolism. To apply their understanding, they were instructed to examine the symbols in the Aboriginal Art of their choice and write a piece to explore the significance of artwork.  

Here is some work from the students:  

At first glance, it seems that this artwork is just two turtles in a river, but there is a deeper meaning. In certain Aboriginal cultures, turtles can represent a protector or guide and are often used in creation stories. It could be assumed that the two turtles are a mother and a baby. This could represent creation and life. 

Some of the other symbols presented in this painting are circles and lines. The circles can represent waterholes or camps. The middle line is definitely a river and the small circles inside could represent tides or objects in the water. Smaller lines can mean ancestral paths, like the ones outside of the river, moving between circles. 

Blue isn’t a common colour in aboriginal art. The main colours used are red, yellow, black and white. This is because those were the colours they had available in natural resources  

like ochre clay, which they would grind up and add water to, to make their paint.  

However, now that aboriginal art has branched out into modern culture, they have the usual resources to make any colours they want, like we see in this piece. There is blue, representing water, red, meaning blood, yellow, indicating something sacred, and white, the spirit colour.  

In conclusion, it is clear to see that aboriginal paintings mean a lot more than meets the eye. A painting that appears to be two turtles in a river, could actually be some form of creation story. 

(Amelie) 

A Turtle’s Life 

The average turtle lives a normal life in the sea but every turtle has one thing in common, they all head back to the place where they were born and lay their eggs there in a theoretically never-ending cycle. No matter the hardships they will always attempt to make it back to their island, bank or ancestral homes. This is about a young turtle’s first cycle back to their home nest to lay eggs. 

The young turtle swims majestically along the ocean floor as she heads to meet the Bale of turtles that slowly head up stream towards their birthplace. There are many dangers along the way including hunters that would catch and slaughter her for the shell that she carries as protection from the many dangers that would pursue her.  

As she heads upstream, narrowly avoiding the traps set by the hunters she gets closer and closer to the island in the middle of a gleaming lake surrounded on all sides by trees. As they get closer and closer to it the traps are less and less. As she arrives at the clearing in the middle many prospective mates are getting closer and closer. As one of them gets there first they start the mating process.  

After a while she climbs onto the land and digs a hole in the sand to lay here eggs in it. After laying her eggs in the hole she covers it with sand and makes sure that the eggs will be in warm sand and then she leaves to head back to the great glorious blue of the ocean. 

(Elias) 

This piece of Aboriginal Artwork shows a bush tomato. The plant is outlined with dots, which may represent a strong aura or an energy field. This painting represents two women collecting the bush tucker.  

The two U shaped figures on either side of the bush tomato symbolise two women with the curved U shape representing the women and the straight lines next to them indicate their digging sticks. The large bowls next to them depict a decorated and sculpted Coolamon (a container used in Aboriginal culture to hold liquid, goods, food or carrying a baby).  

The women use their digging sticks to collect the fruit. Bush tomatoes have been used as a food source by Aboriginal people for many for over thousands of years. They collect the food at specific times of the year, mostly before the rainfall. When the fruit ripens it becomes a yellow-purple colour while the flowers turn a purple/blue colour with grey to bronze leaves. 

Bush tucker has been a significant source of nutrition and medicine for Aboriginal people across history. They are any foods that are native to Australia, such as Bush tomato, Lemon myrtle, Cinnamon myrtle, snowberries, Kakadu plum and Desert limes.  

Overall, this image has many hidden meanings in between the artwork. The message behind this painting describes how the bush tucker is gathered and eaten by the Indigenous and Aboriginal people of Australia. 

(Olivia H) 

This Aboriginal artwork is telling a story with its symbols and I will try to find its meaning. There are two people on each side of the plant, and both appear to have coolamons by them. The plant has dots of various ochre (paints made from materials found in the earth and nature) colours around it, perhaps symbolising how the plant is part of the land. The people are facing towards the plant, as they rely on it and nature to live, and the plant provides food to them. Maybe the people have come in search of food and water with their coolamons, and have found this flower, representing nature. 

The flower’s stem is like the journey that must be taken to reach the fruits, and then finally the bud. Each leaf is where a person or a group of people had found their home and settled down, living off the land as the leaves live off the sun. The fruits are what every person strives for; they are seeds of a new beginning. The bud of the flower represents those who have succeeded in finding their goal – the fruits – and continuing to grow and bloom anyway, past that point, into something beautiful. 

(Sophie) 

I believe that this Aboriginal artwork tells a story, a story that starts with 2 lifelong friends out hunting and scavenging for food. The nature surrounding them was green and luscious. The skies outside were bright and blue, the loud and harmonious chirping of the elegant birds all around them, but one did not know what was imminent. As the sun began to fade through and the sky darkened around them. A betrayal was coming. He did not believe his friend was capable of what he did. His body hit the ground with such force, the earth shook around him, he felt a sharp piercing sensation in his back. He found the courage to look down at his stricken body. The metallic silver blade of the spear entering through his flesh and the dark, red drips of blood spilling out through his chest. He felt a strong pulsation from his heart. A desperate yet futile attempt to stay alive.  There he was, his tribe’s grandmaster, how could the young ones look up to him if he could not even defend himself. He was at peace knowing he deserved this, he had grown feeble and weak. His body had grown tired of the blade. After seconds everything started to echo around him. All he could hear were echoes. Thud. He saw a tunnel. It was peaceful there, he was in no pain. The bright-looking doorway emitting light as bright as the sun provided a comforting warmth. His body was rid of the blade, no scars, no evidence or proof he had been slain. Back down in the cold dark place, the place of his memorial 20 years later. A familiar face had appeared. “I am so sorry dear friend…” 

(Josh P)