Penguin Books Australia

Indigenous Australian art today is recognised throughout Australia and the world for its strength and vitality. In her book Art, Land, Story, Christine Nicholls looks at some of the traditions this art has come from and emphasises the continuous links between Indigenous art, place and The Dreaming the central core of Indigenous law and religion.

Sections on body painting, art from the central and western...

At last!  A book showcasing the Aboriginal rock art of Western Australia's Burrup Peninsula.

Western Australia contains some of the oldest, most prolific, and most spectacular rock art in the world.  Some of the art probably dates from about 40,000 years ago, and much dates from around the last ice age which peaked 20,000 years ago.

On the Australian Heritage-listed Burrup Peninsula and surrounding...

In the proudly ancient Yolngu heartlands larrakitj were used to contain the bones of the deceased during mortuary ceremonies. Today, artists from Arnhem Land's Buku-Larrnggay Mulka arts centre produce modern larrakitj for the education of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Collected for a decade, the larrakitj collection of 110 Yolngu memorial poles from north-east Arnhem form a special part of...

What determines 'traditional' Aboriginal art in an era when modern media such as aluminium, acrylic paint and even cast-off fishing nets have become the media of choice for contemporary artists? What is the relationship between artworks that share similar forms, but whose ceremonial functions of the past wither beneath the imperatives of cultural and socio-economic survival in the twenty-first century? ...

Pounamu, or jade, is one of New Zealand's most treasured natural resources, celebrated for its rich beauty and significance to the Māori people. Pounamu Treasures: Ngā Taonga Pounamu is a simple and stylish collection of object photographs that honours the stone in its many forms.

To Maori, the governing principle of mauri brings to all objects the power and prescience of a living spirit. Objects that are hand-crafted from wood, stone, shell, bone or pounamu are imbued with life by their creators. Conveying the mauri of an object through photography requires an exceptional talent, one focused on distilling the essential energy of the original piece through shades of lighting...

The arts of the Maori are among the most alluring and sophisticated of the Pacific peoples. They developed their skills through centuries of endeavour and craft experimentation, expressing religious and artistic ideas in wood, stone, bone, shell and other materials. In particular, their carving and weaving are universally admired; Maori themselves proudly preserve their artistic traditions and honour...