Art as Reflective Practice

© Dr Barbara Bynder

The arts have a special place in Aboriginal culture and particularly in intergenerational cultural transfer of knowledge. Various arts methods – dance, drama, bark painting, carving, engraving, body painting, as well as ochres on rocks and other surfaces have always been used to record, communicate,explain and teach meaning. With modern technologies, the visual arts provide a significant way for Elders to pass on stories of Country to young people and others who wish to learn in schools, art centres and sometimes in public venues.

In this research project, artists Dr Barbara Bynder, Hozaus Claire and Edwin Mulligan are using the arts to communicate important messages about water and cultural landscapes. As a reflective practice, sometimes the artists will add a written story to the art to supplement the visual meaning. As a postdoctoral scholar, Barbara is writing about the potential of the arts as a reflective practice to communicate cultural ways of knowing and being.

Dr Barbara Bynder is a proud Noongar Yok and a post-doctoral fellow with the research project, who uses art as reflective practice to help understand complex theories and frameworks as well as communicate Aboriginal culture to the broader community using the visual living language of art.

© Dr Barbara Bynder

Acknowledgement of Country

The Nulungu Research Institute is located on Yawuru land, encompassing the coastal town of Broome. Western Australian Aboriginal saltwater, river and desert language groups across the Kimberley and Aboriginal language groups of the Great Western Woodlands sustain intergenerational cultural, intellectual and social affiliations over time.

Researchers and associates of the project: Intergenerational Cultural Transfer of Indigenous Knowledges pay respect to all cultural custodians of the Aboriginal nations in which this project is situated - to past, present and emerging generations. Traditional knowledge and expertise, evident throughout the Kimberley and Great Western Woodlands – is vital to the sustainability of places, cultures and futures.