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Sculpture and carving are today practised in Aboriginal communities throughout Australia , contributing to the religious, aesthetic and economic needs of artists and their communities. This art tradition has undoubtedly been a part of Aboriginal life for thousands of years. However, most of the items produced would not have survived the passage of time. Much Aboriginal art was not meant to be permanent, in the manner, say, of European art. It was also made of materials-wood, clay, fibre-that is liable to decay.Art and Aboriginal life Because Australia contains a wide range of different environments, the patterns of Aboriginal life were equally as varied. However, throughout the continent all Aboriginal people once lived by hunting and food gathering. Small groups moved regularly over a certain territory, their life geared to seasonal cycles. As a result, permanent dwellings and works of art were generally not produced. The main exception is the exceedingly rich rock art of Australia. Aboriginal people believed, and still do believe, that the world as we know it-the land and all living things-is part of a vast network of relationships created by the Great Spirit Ancestors of the Dreaming. These Spirit Ancestors laid down the laws by which people live. Much Aboriginal art is bound up with the Dreaming stories, and the rituals and ceremonies that are performed to maintain the links between people and the spirit world. Mortuary poles and sculptures of ancestral beings and totemic birds and animals are still produced for ceremonial use, mainly in northern Australia. Carved from wood, or constructed of fibre, feathers, paperbark and other materials and carefully painted, these ritual sculptures are often destroyed or deliberately left to disintegrate at the end of the ceremonies for which they were made. (Today many introduced materials such as tin, nails, wire, glass marbles and commercial wools may also be used in the construction of such figures.) In those areas of Australia where the impact of white settlement has been most devastating, the only sculptural expressions that remain from the past include engravings on rock, carved trees, carved and incised stone sacred objects, and certain implements, decorated with carvings, that were used in everyday life and are now preserved in museum collections. In much of south-eastern Australia the cultures that produced this work have been greatly altered by colonisation and assimilation.Evolving traditions Elsewhere, however, Aboriginal sculptural traditions have been evolving and adapting to changing circumstances. Sometimes new forms have developed out of a community's ritual life-for example, the brilliant small sculptures of Cape York which seem to have first appeared around 1950. But in many areas it is the production of articles for sale to outsiders that has resulted in new types of sculptures, or adaptations of traditional types. Throughout Australia the 'curio' market emerged as a factor in Aboriginal art quite soon after contact with European settlers. Aboriginal artists have also been influenced by European styles. Early this century there were a number of individual Aboriginal sculptors who possessed abilities clearly recognisable to non-Aboriginal observers. Unfortunately, many did not receive recognition in their lifetime. Jim Kite (Erliakiliakirra), an Aranda artist from Central Australia, and Kalboori Youngi, a Pita Pita woman from Queensland, are two such artists. Carving in sandstone, gypsum and other soft rock, both produced small bold sculptures of animals and people as well as finely carved objects such as pipe bowls. In Western Australia today unique stone sculptures of human heads are being produced in the Eighty Mile Beach region. Originally the work of only one person, these often striking busts are now made by a number of people in an artistic movement that is rapidly gaining in importance. In recent years the creation of art and craft outlets and the increasing interest in Aboriginal art have led to the development of many innovative trends in sculpture. However, these trends are still usually based on traditional art. The articles produced reflect in a new way the world-view of the artist concerned. Aboriginal sculptures are today recognised by the art world as important creations, as dynamic and beautiful as those produced by any other culture. The Art of the everyday Many beautiful wooden implements were produced for use in everyday life-among them, coolamons (carrying dishes), spear throwers, boomerangs, shields and clubs. In making these, the craftsmen and women were often very aware of the aesthetics of the object, not just their end use. Subtle designs complement the form of tools and weapons, and particular attention is paid to the natural shape and grain of the wood. In northern-central Australia, coolamons and dishes are still produced with gracefully winged sides, enhanced by careful fluting. The slim parrying shields of south-eastern Australia, with designs engraved on their faces, are among the most beautiful artefacts to survive from that area. Some types of stone tools were also made by craftsmen with an artistic flair. The stone knappers of the Kimberley sought attractively coloured, fine-grained rocks to create the beautiful leaf-shaped spearheads of the region. In Central Australia, Arnhem Land and north-western Queensland, fine, long, symmetrical stone blades were hafted as knives or spearheads. Their handles were often decorated with painted motifs. Sculptures of the Dreaming Throughout Aboriginal Australia a variety of unique regional sculptures would once have been produced relating to the religious and ceremonial life of different groups. In western New South Wales many cylcon stones have been uncovered. These are basically tapering lengths of stone varying in size and colour according to the type of stone used. Many are decorated with incised markings. Their purpose and age are unknown, though they may have been used in ceremonies, like the tjuringas, the sacred incised stones still used in Central Australia. In the Lake Eyre Basin of north-east South Australia the people produced toas, small sculptures made by carving wood or moulding gypsum or ochre into schematic forms. They represented either actual or totemic landforms. Feathers, fibre, shell or even small artefacts were often attached, all providing further information about the specific landform represented. It is believed that toas were left in abandoned camps to indicate where the previous inhabitants had moved. In more recent times the people of Aurukun and Lockhart River on Cape York Peninsula have been making some of the most dramatic but least known sculptures in Australia. Their superb representations of ancestral beings and totemic animals, birds, fish and reptiles are used in a variety of ceremonies where they are displayed singly or in groups. The carving is strong and naturalistic, strikingly painted with red, black and white ochres. Although these figures are made purely for ritual purposes, similar small carvings are sometimes produced for sale. Carved human figures are occasionally produced by artists in the Western Desert, particularly in the north-western part of the region. The figures mostly represent ferocious spirits who prey on humans and are believed to live beneath Lake Disappointment in Western Australia. They are made by carving flat panels of hardwood. The features are engraved on, with hair, string or wool ornaments sometimes added for further decoration.Sculpture in Arnhem Land Arnhem Land, in the 'Top End' of the Northern Territory, is a major centre for the production of Aboriginal art, including bark paintings, fibrecrafts, and a range of both sacred and secular carvings and sculpture. Arnhem Land sculpture was first seen by non-Aboriginals early this century. In central and eastern Arnhem Land it was originally based on simple poles made of hardwood. These had a minimum of carving and were elaborately painted with designs belonging to the clan of the artist. The sculptors and painters were men who had participated in special ceremonies and so were entitled to depict the secret-sacred stories of the Dreaming. However, Arnhem Land sculpture today incorporates a wide range of subjects and individual styles. Most works are now made of lighter wood that can be easily carved by artists of either sex. Images of birds, animals, fish, spirits and ancestral beings are produced, usually carved from a single piece of wood, although composite constructions do occur. The figures are painted with clan designs. Painting is usually done with earth colours-red ochre, black manganese or charcoal, and white obtained from either pipeclay or the mineral huntites. These are mixed with a commercial adhesive to ensure durability. Another common way of decorating carved softwood figures is to paint broad areas of the figure, then, using a razorblade or sharp knife, incise fine lines through the paint exposing the pale wood beneath. A wide variety of more fragile sculptures are created from bark and fibre, representing totemic animals, birds and plants as well as human figures. They are made of a core of folded or rolled paperbark, tightly bound with 'bush string'. These often elegant and beautiful forms are then painted, and perhaps decorated by the addition of brilliant feathers and seeds. Most of the fibre sculptures of Arnhem Land are made for highly sacred ceremonies and only the initiated are allowed to look at them. However, a range of non-sacred fibre sculptures is being produced for sale in a number of communities. In many parts of central and eastern Arnhem Land large hollow logs or bark cylinders are still used as repositories for bones of the dead. The ends of these wooden coffins are often carved to represent the jaws or other features of totemic beings associated with the family of the deceased. They are painted with elaborate designs also related to the mortuary beliefs of the dead person. Western Arnhem Land sculptures are mostly of mimi or spirit figures and are not elaborately painted. Mimi figures are a common motif in the famous rock art of the area. However, these sculptures appear to be a relatively recent development. Djuandjuan, small figures fashioned from bound paperbark and used to indicate the position of graves, were a traditional sculptural product of this area. Tiwi sculpture West of Arnhem Land lie Melville and Bathurst Islands, the home of the Tiwi people and their unique art styles expressed in body painting, sculpture, painting, and song and dance. Much of Tiwi art is associated with their complex funeral ceremonies, or pukumani ceremonies (from the Tiwi word for 'taboo' or 'dangerous'). Towards the end of the funeral ceremonies carved and painted hardwood poles are erected around the grave by the mourners. Originally it seems that simple tree trunks were used for this purpose. However, over time elaborate changes have occurred. Long prong-like terminals, reduced or 'waisted' sections, 'windows' and protruding knobs are all now carved on to the poles. Recent poles, usually carved for immediate sale, often terminate in sculptures of birds, animals' heads or human figures. Today the Tiwi people are very active sculptors. Hardwood carvings of birds, reptiles and human figures are also produced for sale, as well as the more traditional multi-barbed spears and a wide variety of fighting clubs. Most of the sculptures and implements are painted with the complex abstract designs characteristic of Tiwi art. The exceptions include the large pelican sculptures. These figures are usually painted only with white, black and red or yellow paint, either in broad panels or naturalistically-a stark contrast to the more usual style of Tiwi painting. Central Australian carvings Small carvings of animals, birds and reptiles are produced in a number of Pitjantjatjara communities in the Western Desert, though the style originated among the southern Aranda. Made of both hard and soft wood, the carved figures are decorated by branding designs on them using heated pieces of wire. These figures are readily sold in art and craft shops. The Pitjantjatjara also use the branding technique to decorate digging dishes and coolamons produced for sale. The bowls and dishes conform to traditional types. In the past they were often left unadorned with the plain adzed surface providing a pleasing effect. In some areas fine grooving and fluting were used to finish these graceful artefacts. Engraved ornaments The Kimberley region of Western Australia is known for the production of a number of unique carved and engraved objects. Perhaps the most striking are the engraved pearl shell ornaments. Large and small disks and blades of pearl shell are often engraved with complex 'key' designs consisting of angular meanders of parallel lines. Other shells bear more naturalistic motifs-fish, animals and plants-or depict scenes such as pearling, cattle mustering, aeroplanes and motor vehicles. The engravings, in filled with red ochre or charcoal, stand out against the lustrous nacre of the mother-of-pearl. Also in the Kimberley and unique to it are the carved nuts of the boab tree. The large round nuts with their dark brown shells provide perfect surfaces on which a wide variety of motifs are etched. Early designs appear to have been based on styles similar to those found in the rock art of the region, while more recent carvings depict in a naturalistic way animals, birds, insects and reptiles or scenes such as cattle mustering, ceremonies and hunting. In areas where emus occur many Aboriginal artists have become especially skilful at carving the large, green eggs. Using pocket knives to remove the layers of delicate shell, varying shades of green are revealed. Hunting scenes, plants, animals and human portraits are common subjects portrayed in emu-egg art. Urban sculpture Today Aboriginal art is produced not only in the more remote areas of the continent, but also in towns and cities. Urban Aboriginal artists have found many means of self expression-mainly through literature and painting, rather than sculpture. One exception is the work of Fiona Foley, who is both a painter and a sculptor. Her composite construction Annihilation of the Blacks starkly expresses the deep fears and anxieties felt by Aboriginal people as a result of the past 200 years of genocide and repression. Foley's work highlights the complex nature of Aboriginal art today. It is produced by people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds who express a wide range of individual and regional styles. The art is still largely based on past traditions, but these traditions are also evolving and adapting to changing circumstances – as indeed they have always done. Rock art photos from top to bottom: Grahame L. Walsh Resource Managers Pty Ltd AIATSIS Grahame L. Walsh Thanks to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)
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