Is It Art or Knowledge? Deconstructing Australian Aboriginal Creative Making

Abstract

Australian Aboriginal symbols are visual forms of knowledge that express cultural intellect. Being classified by a Western interpretation of "art" devalues thousands of years of generational knowledge systems, where visual information has been respected, appreciated and valued. This article highlights how Aboriginal creativity has little concept of aesthetical value, but is a cultural display of meaning relating to Creational periods, often labelled as The Dreamings. With over 350 different Aboriginal Nations in Australia, this article focuses of the Dharug Nation, located around the northern Sydney area of New South Wales. The Dharug term for the Creational period is Gunyalungalung-traditional ritualized customary lores (laws). These symbols are permanently located within the environment on open rock surfaces, caves and markings on trees. Whilst some symbols are manmade, others are made by Creational ancestral beings and contain deep story lines of information in sacredness. Therefore, creative imagery engraved or painted on rock surfaces are forms of conscious narratives that emphasise deep insight.

Australian Indigenous sensory knowledge systems in creative practices

“…From an Indigenous standpoint, oolgna is our intuitive center of thinking, doing, and being. Intuitive knowing (oolgna) is considered an internalized, enduring emotional signal that is core to thinking (Cameron, 2015). It is an intelligence center located in the stomach region behind the umbilical cord.…”

Cultural Rights as Human Rights and the Impact on the Expression of Arts Practices

“…In the case of Australian Indigenous people for example, arts practice and cultural understandings are intertwined (Cameron 2015). The visual images that are reflected in traditional Australian Indigenous practices are part of the passing down of that community's culture and unique to that community (Brady et al 2016;Doring & Nyarrawa 2014).…”

Values added in speciality coffee

“…They encompass philosophy and perspectives on creation, explanations of ecology, astronomy (Norris and Harney, 2013) and, in practical terms, provide routes to resources; understanding songlines enables journey. They are exchanged primarily through song, story and visual image (Cameron, 2015); however, there is no universal representation or language of song, and therefore a single definition cannot be imposed. Songlines are a multifaceted and multilingual guide with no immediate means of verification other than a shared sense of knowing and the collective ability to act in a meaningful way.…”