Visual Art: Term 1 2022 (week 1 & 2)
NGV Bark Ladies: Eleven artists from Yirrkala
Through an examination and exploration of the art works in the NGV Bark Ladies Exhibition this term, students will reflect on and develop their own drawing and painting skills. Developing an understanding of the work of the eleven female artists from Yrrikala, and their world view, will help us to develop our own visual language. Students will explore Yolŋu Indigenous culture through the work in this exciting exhibition and be inspired to investigate their own connection to nature, their relationship to their surroundings, their stories and personal narratives.
Though an understanding of the Yolŋu people’s connection to country and storytelling through visual imagery, students will begin to develop an understanding of their own connection to place and begin to develop our own visual language through the exploration of line, pattern and mark making.
‘The land has a spirit and identity where ever you are…’
Exploring the Bark Ladies Of Yirrkala and their work, will run parallel to students own exploration of drawing and mark making and their developing skills when communicating their own personal narratives through drawing and mark making.
“The role of art is to give food for thought, to act as a stimulant, to entice the onlooker to inspect things, people, emotions, from a new point of view.”
We began the term contemplating line and mark making and endeavouring to tell a visual story about an experience in the holidays. Taking a line for a walk, not taking the pen off the page and allowing our thoughts to lead the meandering of the pen over the page was our main objective in week one. In week two, we furthered the work we commenced in week one and developed ideas for patterning and mark making, building on the images and using pattern to add meaning and depth to our drawings.
Yolngu Art is an inherited visual language… passed on through generations. Female Yolŋu artists have shown themselves to be particularly innovative. They have used these inherited visual language to inform their contemporary painting. Students were inspired by seeing new possibilities in visual language and endeavored to explore line, pattern and rhythm in their drawing work.
Below are some examples of student work from week 2:
