Aboriginal /Indigenous art was used as inspiration to make an artwork of the local area using Google Maps for the structural lines and shapes. Australian Aboriginal people have a strong connection with the land, sky and waterways, creation and dreaming stories. The history of their ancestors and creator spirits are passed down through song, dance and art of the Dreamtime. ‘Songlines’ are maps of the land where ancestors have journeyed the country during the Dreamtime – creating parts of the land, singing of places where food sources were hunted and gathered and sharing knowledge of sacred places, as they moved through the country. Many Aboriginal artworks map the land of the artist (or artist’s mother or father) with lines and symbols that tell stories of the country.
We looked at two collaborative Aboriginal artworks that represent a map of the country, each artist creating a section showing the landscape where seasons, plants, animals, hunting and fire, water and collective histories and dreaming stories form a map. After discussing the lines, colours, shapes etc, students looked at Google Earth images of our local area and transferred the structural lines to create a map of area using elements of line, colour, shape, texture etc. of the streets, paths, buildings, gardens and a body of water inspired by the Aboriginal artworks we viewed and discussed.
Lesson plan aligned to Victorian Curriculum, learning intentions, success criteria, lesson steps, resources and materials, links to artwork images, useful videos and a “how to” transfer the map lines demonstration video, discussion questions, student evaluation sheet, student examples. PDF download.
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