New England Diary

View Original

Aboriginal art

“Tjapaltjarri” (c. 1935/40-2002) “Men's Maliyarre (Initiation) Ceremony’’ (acrylic on linen), by Clfford Possum, at LaiSun Keane gallery, Boston, through March 28, in the group show “Kinship: Art of Australia.’’

These canvas paintings , all by Australian Aborginal artists, depict the culture, history and customs of that group ,whose ancestors lived for 50,000 years on the continent before the arrival of English colonizers, in 1788. The gallery says that these paintings “contain important narratives passed down through generations, yet these are disguised in abstract patterns to protect their cultural secrets and keep them sacred.’’