Please Note: This entire website contains the names of Australian Aboriginal artists, some of who may be deceased or become deceased. If this is offensive to you, you should not read further.

---

At the heart of all Australian Aboriginal art is the Dreamtime, a time before time when the spirits of the world emerged from the earth and wandered the country creating features of the land as they passed through it. Many of the subjects of Aboriginal paintings relate to the stories of "Dreamings".

Bark paintings are indigenous to the
North of the continent, where the tropical weather fosters the growth of eucalyptus (or gum) trees. During a period of the seasons the bark of the gum tree can
be scored and stripped in large sections from the trees.

These slabs of bark are well-suited to provide shelter from the tropical rain that drenches the land. The inner side of the bark is cleaned to provide a smooth surface that becomes the medium for Aboriginal artists to illustrate their dreamtime stories while sharing them
with youngsters and those being
initiated into Dreamtime tales.

The bark paintings shown here represent different styles as used by different clans of the Aboriginal community. Each is significant to the artists and communities and worthy of identification of each painter's creative output.

CY76 - Tiwi Islands

K151 - Nalorlman

KB58 - E. Blitner

38" x 19"
W724 - Munumgurr

69" x 22"
W752 - Djawida

17 1/2" x 47 1/2"
W758 - Neville Mardday



42.5" x 21.5"
W769 - Luke Nganjmirra


16" x 12"
W813 - Wanambi

24" x 11 1/2"
W816 - Marika

36" x17"
W818 - Gumana

44 1/2" x 22"
W821 - Maymuru/Wanambi

45" x 22"
W950 - Burrarwanga