Through the artistic creation of various artists, materials, symbols and visual codes are used to communicate meaning for an audience. They are able to represent meaning through conceptual, theoretical and materialistic ways, where their choices of materials, symbols and visual codes help audiences draw connections to their own lives, feel empathy and become aware of the issues raised. The visual codes that encode meaning involve how stylistic features are used to reinforce and elaborate meaning. This is evident in the Dadaist artist Marcel Duchamp and evident in the colonial and political works of contemporary artists Joan Ross and Tony Albert. Ultimately, these techniques and choices used in their artistic creation, encode meaning for the audience, enhancing their interaction with the artist and the intended meaning. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Through the avant-garde material processes of Marcel Duchamp's artistic production in the early 20th century, symbols and visual codes are seen through the collection and encoding of meaning in found objects that he repurposed into works of art. These became known as readymade objects, to what Duchamp called “anti-retinal,” meaning to challenge the movement of artistry or aesthetics. Concepts of the readymade can be seen through the incorporation of a banal object that is transformed through the artist's distinct and non-traditional practice of reconceptualizing one or more objects. French artist, Marcel Duchamp's involvement with the Dada movement aimed to remove traditional practices and values ​​in art and create new ideas and expectations in art to replace the past, where he embodied the avant-garde rejection of conventional culture, exposing the major concerns that had with his world. This can be clearly seen through Duchamp's materialist and ready-made sculpture, “Fountain”, a porcelain urinal, signed “R.Mutt”. This marked a revolutionary moment in art history as Duchamp challenged traditional practices through the humor, wordplay and wit he evoked, through the use of visual codes. The minimal choice of object exposes his use of dematerialization, further challenging traditional practices and representing the anarchic style of his practice, redirecting expectations of Western art. Duchamp uses a readymade object as a symbol of the subversion of the traditional practices he uses in his practice, allowing his artwork to become monumental in the Dada movement. The object of a urinal is perceived as an unusual symbol, underlining its message that any object can be transformed and considered a work of art, as well as bringing irony and humor to the artwork. This challenged the audience as it invited them to a range of responses and perspectives on the intention of the artwork, within its codified meaning on the significance of the conceptual and non-traditional aspects of an artist's choice of materials . Furthermore, its visual code in the mysterious signature of "R.Mutt" represents its spirit and wordplay of its concept. Over many decades, critics have interacted with Duchamp's work, with countless perspectives and judgments. His attempt to challenge conventional artistic practice through the concept of the readymade was commented on by the critic Wood who states: “He chose it. He created meaning for the object,” representing the principles of the readymade movement ofDuchamp and the revolt of the Dada artists of their time. Ultimately, he uses the object of a boring and repulsive urinal as a symbol of artistic revolution in his conservative context, breaking the boundaries of conventional artistic practice. Duchamp's practice and interaction in the art world as he utilized recontextualization and appropriation in his artistic production, influenced traditional practices and expectations of art, as well as influencing the future of artistic practice, including artistic creation of contemporary and modern artists, who were inspired to use similar ideas to encode meaning in their works. Through the artistic creation of a contemporary Australian artist, materials, symbols and visual codes are used, allowing them to refer to issues of colonialism and different political visions. Joan Ross' digital animation, “The Claiming of Things,” illustrates her vision and interpretation of colonialism and property through the appropriation of an original painting by John Glover. It was performed in the early days of the Tasmanian colonies. The appropriation of this painting on its backdrop serves as a focal point for his ironic and subversive interventions, establishing the landscape of the scene. The role of his artwork is to reveal the harmful effects of colonization on Australia and to represent the fear felt by Aboriginal people due to the high impact of introduced species, resource use and other problems created by the colonizers . He does this through the inherent visual codes and material choices in his digital art. Ross is able to communicate this concept through his choice of new media of digital animation and choice of materials, immediately showing the introduction of digital technology that colonization eventually brought to Australia. Yinke Shonibare is another contemporary artist who explores similar issues of postcolonialism through his sculptural installations. He uses his Nigerian background to describe the problems caused by the colonizers, as seen in his installation, "The Scramble for Africa", where he reformulates the Berlin-Congo conference which concerned European colonial accusations against African communities. Through this representation, she raises similar issues to Joan Ross, as well as connecting to Julie Gough, who is from Tasmania and Ireland/Scotland, as they both experience a dual identity that has been marginalised. The concepts of vandalism and graffiti in Ross' animation are shown in Gainsborough's two authoritative but madness-filled figures, demonstrating their claim to the land and loss of property from the original owners. Gainsborough's figures can be linked to his English portrait, "the morning walk" in which the wealthy couple, Mr and Mrs William Hallett, are seen walking their faithful dog. This idea is typical of Gainsborough, and Ross used it in his appropriation, exaggerating the irony of class and status. Ross uses the symbol of a graffiti can to directly represent the damage and vandalism that the figures have used in the animation, as well as representing the impact of the tangible damage that the colonizers have had on Australia and the original land. Ross's use of pop-cultural and postmodern visual symbols and codes in his animated imagery throughout the animation, demonstrates the effect of colonization and commercialism on the original landscape, showing the slow degeneration of nature due to human impact . Through its codified iconography, using pop culture symbols and images, conceptual meaning is shown, allowing the audience to share their experiences and recognize the imagesidentifiable and familiar. For example, the image of a cake and a pink poodle are extremely recognizable to modern audiences and relate to the introduced elements that colonizers imposed on Australia that created a desire for luxury in all Australians. Furthermore, the prominent and highlighted placement of the fluorescent fence symbolizes Aboriginal entrapment and fear in contrast to their pre-settlement behaviour. Ross manages to convey this meaning through the symbol of a fence, connecting to the collective representation of entrapment in the icon of a fence. Likewise, his use of fluorescent and bright colours, particularly high visibility yellow, symbolizes the issue of colonisation, uniquely addressing the impact of our throwaway culture and the belief that construction is the answer to all our financial and social problems. The high visibility yellow used as a stylistic feature amplifies the meaning of the reference to colonialism, acting as a visual code in the work. Furthermore, it highlights the foreign and alien aspects brought by the colonizers. This technique and symbol are also seen in many of his other works that serve as a motif, including his installation called "Wrapped up like a douche" and the digital animation, "Colonial Grab", where he often uses this visual code to represent the mass. colonialization and the impact it had on the land and the original owners. Ross's artistic production significantly shows how materials, symbols and visual codes can encode meaning for audiences to understand the issues he communicates. Additionally, diverse political views are communicated through Australian contemporary artist Tony Albert's special commissioned work, “Sorry.” His installation is linked to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2008 apology which was significant for Aboriginal Australians as it acknowledged their society's mistreatment. His political views are questioned as he deliberately uses distinctive techniques and specific symbols to provoke the public to become aware of these issues. In its composition, “Sorry”, includes kitsch caricatures, that is, mass-produced popular objects, often in bad taste, and easily recognizable found objects from Australia's recent past, circa the 1950s and 1970s. This allowed him to recontextualise these objects and symbols to fit his views on the 2008 apology and the tragedy of the mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians. These symbolic objects consist of portraits of Aboriginal individuals on ashtrays, plates and boomerangs and other kitsch found objects that personify these objects' connection to Aboriginal life. Through its ability to give voice to these objects, the public can become sympathetic to the mistreatment they have suffered, where the installation generates empathetic reactions during political upheavals. This links to the works of Pablo Picasso, “Massacre in Korea” and “Guernica”, where the audience's empathy is provoked through the representation of issues of suffering in war and agony, stimulating similar responses. Albert's beige and muddy color palette, with metallic browns, dusty oranges and pure white, allows him to represent the simple life that Aboriginal people lived before colonisation, as well as connecting to their dependence on the environment through earthy colours. Albert's use of stylistic techniques in his use of color and his choice not to include colors that represent colonialism such as high visibility yellow, bright pink, blue and purple represent his ability to make.