The techniques for producing ‘Aboriginal art’ i.e. the use of dots, cannot be copyrighted. Anyone can use the same technique. Likewise the configurations of dots into circles, lines etc. Likewise symbols for feet, kangaroo, emu etc. These are simply painting techniques that anyone can use to create an original work whether Indigenous or not. There is problem with doing that.
The real issue is not recreating or reproducing the techniques, but attaching to it the implication that it was painted by an Aboriginal person or worse a named person who did not actually paint the works. That is a fraudulent act, not the painting itself.
The only sure way to buy the genuine article by an Aboriginal artist is to buy directly from the artist or through their agent from reputable art galleries. And be prepared to pay handsomely for it. But even that is no guarantee that an ‘assistant’ did not help to create the work. And as long as the genuine artist had knowledge of and gave consent to it, there is no issue. This is a fabricated complaint under the cloak of outrage being generated about all things Indigenous good, non-Indigenous bad in the current climate.
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