Symbols in art: saying more than you show

A symbol is something that stands for something else. A heart for love. A broken chain for freedom. An empty chair for someone who is missing. Artists use symbols so a work can say much more than what it literally shows.

The artist's toolkit

Materials can be symbols too

In 1994 Michel Tuffery, an artist of Samoan, Tahitian and Cook Islands heritage, built a life-sized bull out of flattened corned beef tins, joined with hundreds of rivets. The tins are the message. Tinned corned beef, called pisupo in Samoan, became an everyday food in the Pacific, and the bull gets people talking about trade, health and change. It is now in the collection of Te Papa.

Colour carries feeling

Warm colours (reds, oranges, yellows) often feel energetic, loud or urgent. Cool colours (blues, greens, purples) often feel calm, sad or far away. But colour meanings change between cultures. In some places white is for weddings, in others for mourning. Think about who will be looking at your work.

Cultural symbols need care

Many patterns and forms belong to particular peoples and carry deep meaning. Kōwhaiwhai, tukutuku, tā moko and many Pacific motifs connect to whakapapa, places and ancestors. You can learn about them, admire them and talk about them. Before using one, ask: what does it mean, where does it come from, and is it mine to use? If you aren't sure, design your own symbol instead. That's what artists do.

How to design your own symbol

Start with a real object from your idea: a shell, a key, a jandal, a leaf from your street. Draw it five times, simpler each time, until it is a strong shape you could draw from memory. Now it can stand for something bigger.

Reading a symbol in someone else's work

Describe what you see. Analyse how it is made. Interpret what it might mean, with a clue for every guess. Then judge: does it work, and for whom?