A landscape painting with symbols representing people and waves rolling onto a beach
Tall, blue waves
© Layla, Nowendoc Public School

In art, a symbol is usually a thing such as an animal, a plant, or an object that represents something. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have, for a long time, used symbols in their artworks.

Layla has included footprints in her painting. What could they represent?

What other symbols do you see and what do they represent?