Colours of the Earth
Ochres are incredible natural pigments that come from the earth. They are minerals that can be found in the soil or even charcoal. For tens of thousands of years Indigenous Australian people have used ochre to create beautiful artworks that tell stories and convey important messages. Despite the introduction of acrylic paints, ochres still continue to be used by many Indigenous artists to this day (Wroth, 2021). These gorgeous paintings display the rich colours of the earth. Here at Yarn we are passionate about all forms of Indigenous art and many of the artists we work with still utilise this beautiful medium.
Ochre was one of the first ways that First Nations people told their stories through a visual format. Indigenous Australians have never had a written language, stories have always been communicated through oral traditions such storytelling and songs. Originally ochres had enormous value and would be traded between different tribal groups. There were trade routes much the same as the silk routes that went through Asia. Incredible feats of courage and endurance would have been needed to cross thousands of kilometres of inland Australia to trade ochre. Many parts of Australia don’t have ochres available but the local people still it for ceremonies and as a way of recording Dreamtime stories. Ochre was also used to give warnings regarding hazards or instructions about the nearest waterhole or the best hunting spots (Wroth, 2021).
One of the key sites where ochre can be found is the ochre pits of the MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia. Here there are colourful soft stoned cliffs that have always played an important role in the culture of the local Western Arrernte Aboriginal people. Over the years the wind and rain has carved into the soft layers revealing dramatic colourful swirls. Wilgie Mia Ochre Pit located in the Muchinson district of Western Australia is another well known ochre site. At the top of a small hill a large hole has been dug out to create a cavern. It is estimated that approximately 50,000 tonnes ochre was collected from the site by Indigenous peoples. The deep red ochre was one of the most prized ochres. It was traded and transported to distant places such as Cape York, the Kimberley and the Nullarbor. These sites as well as many others offer a beautiful array of ochre colours including white, yellows, oranges, reds, purples and browns (Kerr, 2017).
Ochre would traditionally be applied to a number of different materials to create artworks. This included body painting, rock painting, the painting of artefacts, bark painting and sometimes ochre would even be applied to sand. There are a number of different traditional painting styles that ochre would be used for. One of these is cross-hatching or as it’s traditionally called rarrk. The style originates from Arnhem Land, NT and artists here still practice this style using natural pigments. Many of these artists also embrace the technique that is today called X-ray. This unique style shows the internal organs and bone structures of humans and animals. This style often includes sacred images of ancestral beings as well as depictions of animals that were important food sources. Through X-ray art painters express their ongoing relationship with the natural and spiritual worlds (Wroth, 2021).
Traditional ochre paintings need to be stored and handled with extreme care. Despite this many artists still prefer to paint with ochre. Ochre has a unique earthy quality and provides a beautiful range of natural colours that represent country. One community that still had many traditional painters is Warmun in the Kimberley. Rover Thomas is well known for establishing the East Kimberley School of painting in 1970. His artworks used simplicity to portray the landscape through aerial perspectives to depict map-like images in ochre. Following his success Queenie Mckenzie started painting in the late 1980s. Her landscapes were very distinctive, she liked to use natural pigments in the colours of soft pink and pale violet. Kathy Ramsay is an exciting emerging artist from Warmun Art Centre. She began painting in 2013 and has already been included in numerous group exhibitions across Australia and Internationally (Kate Owen Gallery, 2021). Her unique ochre painting style incorporates both aerial and landscape perspectives with gorgeous delicate colour palette including dusty pinks, oranges, browns and splashes of bright blue.
Through ochre paintings we can witness the incredible natural colours of country, of the earth. This beautiful traditional medium continues to play an important role within Indigenous art. Here at Yarn Marketplace some of our products feature beautiful ochre artworks. One of our partner artists who loves to focus on these beautiful natural colours is Charlie Chambers Jnr. Charlie is an Aboriginal Jarowair man from the Toowoomba, Dalby and Bunya Mountain regions. He paints to keep the Dreamtime stories of his elders alive. You can view more of his beautiful artwork here.
