Aboriginal art by Melanie Hava
According to Melanie Hava, her art comes from her mother Enns, who is aboriginal of Manu people in Queensland. And Melanie’s father is Austrian. The girl grew up in different and contrasting cultures. Since childhood she enjoyed creating art, as well as reading books and playing the piano. When Melanie was in her twenties she started combining art ideas of these two different cultures – aboriginal Australian and Austrian folk art.
In particular, the patterns, gold lead and Swarovski crystal in her work – taken from Austrian traditions. Besides, great influence on her art had famous Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. Melanie Hava has participated in solo and group exhibitions of art in Mount Isa, Toowoomba, Melbourne and Cairns.
In total, she has completed more than 30 commissions since 2007. Mother for two children, Melanie Hava lives in the beautiful, tropical and inspiring Cairns close to her mother’s country. Here she creates new works for the upcoming exhibitions.

In fact, Aboriginal art, is the visual and literary culture of the Aboriginal people of Australia. It transmits knowledge of the Dreaming — an eternal time when spirit ancestors created all living things. Also, geographical features of the landscape, and the rationale for all life. A large variety of art-forms are, or were, in use by the Aborigines. And the most important among these include cave and rock paintings and rock engravings.

Aboriginal art by Melanie Hava

Meanwhile, today the indigenous art of Australia is limited to a very few areas. However, traditionally Aborigines painted on the human body, rock-surfaces, on the earth, man-made objects, and on bark. Besides, masters engraved images on stone or wood, shells or artifacts and even, in New South Wales, on trees. More unusual were the large figures which used to be made out of soil and branches on ritual occasions (South Australia), and the use of feathers and human blood as decorative materials.

The Aborigines decorated many objects used in everyday life, such as paddles, spear-throwers, boomerangs, baskets, shields, and message-sticks. From 1970 onwards Aboriginal artists have adapted their ancient designs to introduced media of acrylic on canvas, print-making, batik, and pottery.

Sources:
tosarigalleries.com.au/aboriginal-artists
Norwich John Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Arts