BRUSSELS - Aboriginalities 2021 - Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi (3)
"Aboriginalities" is an exhibition to immerse into the universe of Aboriginal painting – an art form that is both ancestral and contemporary, always rooted in spirituality (Exhibition 2021 at Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium).
As a window on the spiritual, Aboriginal art tells the story of the creation of the world – called "Dreamtime"* – and the original link between humans and the earth. The numerous motifs (dotted lines, spirals, zigzags, crosshatching...) are passed down from generation to generation by members of the same community, concealing centuries-old secrets as well as a map of their territory. This ancestral and highly symbolic art form was originally concealed: drawn in the sand or applied on rocks on territories forbidden to laypersons. But in the early 1970s, amidst struggles for the recognition of an Aboriginal identity, the Papunya Tula community translated their cultural practices and symbolic knowledge through paint. Using non-traditional methods borrowed from Western culture (acrylics, brushes, cardboard and later canvas), the indigenous people of Australia found a modern way to express their cultural, political, social and economic struggles.
BRUSSELS - Aboriginalities 2021 - Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi (3)
"Aboriginalities" is an exhibition to immerse into the universe of Aboriginal painting – an art form that is both ancestral and contemporary, always rooted in spirituality (Exhibition 2021 at Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium).
As a window on the spiritual, Aboriginal art tells the story of the creation of the world – called "Dreamtime"* – and the original link between humans and the earth. The numerous motifs (dotted lines, spirals, zigzags, crosshatching...) are passed down from generation to generation by members of the same community, concealing centuries-old secrets as well as a map of their territory. This ancestral and highly symbolic art form was originally concealed: drawn in the sand or applied on rocks on territories forbidden to laypersons. But in the early 1970s, amidst struggles for the recognition of an Aboriginal identity, the Papunya Tula community translated their cultural practices and symbolic knowledge through paint. Using non-traditional methods borrowed from Western culture (acrylics, brushes, cardboard and later canvas), the indigenous people of Australia found a modern way to express their cultural, political, social and economic struggles.