DOI:10.1109/IV.2009.81

Extracted Abstract:

According to the ‘Yolngu’ and ‘Kuninjku’ peoples of Arnhem Land, northern Australia their art connects knowledge to the land. Land comes into being as a part of an ancestral dreaming enacted through performative storytelling. In this region a particular technique for revealing elements of nature is used called ‘rarrk’. The technique employs a crosshatched layering of coloured lines. The surface of these images present a powerful but ambiguous visual and emotional effect on the viewer. It creates a dialogue not ordinarily possible with more traditional flattened or chiaroscuro techniques. Similar yet distinct from the more familiar moiré effects of the early twentieth century European Impressionists, the technique is a peculiarly potent method for communicating a local cultural heritage knowledge to those initiated in its conventions. The work of a local Aboriginal artist who specializes in rarrk, Mawurndjul, is explored as a case study in the stability and ambiguity of the images generated using this technique. The paper explores the technique, its use and effectiveness and suggests it as a cultural heritage knowledge communication schema, highlighting the plethora of schemas yet to be explored in cultural heritage knowledge visualisation in general. Keywords--- moiré, impressionist, Indigenous, rarrk.