For millions of people around the world, abstract dot painting is synonymous with Aboriginal Art, yet First Nations creative expression is as diverse as the individuals who make it. In Western Australia figurative/representational work has been practised by Aboriginal people for centuries, as evidenced by rock art and petroglyphs created tens of thousands of years ago. In recent decades representational art has enabled Aboriginal people to express themselves and tell stories in a powerfully direct way, resulting in some of the most iconic legacies in Western Australian art, including the Carrolup School of the State’s south, the highly innovative sculptural practice of the Tjanpi Desert Weavers, and the deeply spiritual Wandjina figures of the Kimberley.
