Designed for students, this education resource presents ideas for thinking about and making art inspired by selected Aboriginal artists from New South Wales.
Designed for students, this education resource presents ideas for thinking about and making art inspired by selected Aboriginal artists from New South Wales.
born 1978
Wiradjuri, Southern Riverine region, Kamilaroi, Northern Riverine region
Looking and responding
Look at untitled (illuminated tree) 2012 by Jonathan Jones. What do you see? What do you notice about colour, shape and size? How many branches do you see? Would it be smooth or rough to touch?
Imagine what it would look like from above. Picture it in your mind and trace it out on the floor in front of you using your finger.
Making
Jonathan Jones uses light in many of his artworks. Light creates shadow. Can you find the shadows in this work? Using pencil and paper sketch the shadows you see.
Clay is a material from the earth, just like the wood Jones uses in his work. Collect a range of leaves, sticks and rocks from the playground at school. Using clay, create a circular medallion. Press the different materials you have collected into the clay to make imprints. Jones often creates repeating patterns in his work. Try and create a repeating pattern using your materials.
born 1962
Wiradjuri, Culcairn, Southern Riverine region
Making
Connelly-Northey creates her sculptures from materials she finds in her environment. Explore your own environment and find materials that could be used in weaving, tying and knotting to create a three-dimensional object. Find plastic bags, string, wire and so on and experiment to create a new version of a familiar object. Discuss the ways in which this familiar object has been made new and different. Think about texture, colour and scale.
Looking and responding
Look at the series of works called Narrbong (string bag) 2007–08 by Lorraine Connelly-Northey. Think about the title. Are these bags made from string? List words to describe the materials you can see, their colours and how they would feel to touch. Could these words be used to describe the Australian landscape? What kinds of places do you think the artist obtained these materials from? Name the kinds of things you would carry in such a bag.