What is Arnhem Land bark painting?
Arnhem Land bark painting is a traditional art form in which Aboriginal artists paint designs on flattened sheets of stringybark using natural ochres. It is especially associated with Yolngu and Kunwinjku artists.
Artists strip bark from stringybark trees in the wet season, when it peels easily. The bark is heated over a fire and weighted down to flatten it, then smoothed for painting.
Paints are made from natural ochres in red, yellow and white, along with black from charcoal. Fine brushes are made from human hair or reeds. Artists paint ancestral stories, clan designs and animals.
Rarrk and X-ray styles
Many bark paintings use rarrk, a fine cross-hatching technique made of thin parallel lines. Each clan has its own patterns. In western Arnhem Land, artists also paint in the X-ray style, showing the bones and organs of animals.
Bark painting helped bring Aboriginal art to international attention. The Yirrkala bark petitions of 1963 used painted bark frames to support a land rights claim.
Art centres such as Buku-Larrnggay Mulka in Yirrkala, Maningrida Arts and Culture, and Injalak Arts in Gunbalanya support artists and sell their works worldwide. Leading artists include John Mawurndjul and Djambawa Marawili.
Did You Know?
Bark paintings were once made on the walls and ceilings of bark shelters in Arnhem Land.