Kauka, an artwork by Zenadh Kes artist Glen Mackie (image courtesy Editions Tremblay Print Workshop and Glen Mackie)
Surry Hills Library will be displaying a collection of Torres Strait Islander prints from 1 July, as part of NAIDOC Week, through to 31 August 2013.
The last two decades have seen printmaking become one of the most recognisable and respected visual forms of cultural expression by Torres Strait Island (Zenadh Kes) artists. Pioneered in the early 1990s by Badu Island artists Dennis Nona and Alick Tipoti and guided by Cairns TAFE printmaking Teacher Anna Eglitis (and later Theo Tremblay), their natural carving ability on linoleum blocks stems from traditional incising into wooden objects and artefacts and their intricate designs and strong figurative imagery retell legends and exciting stories about their lives before the islands were managed by missionaries, pearlers and Qld government officials.
Featured in this exhibition is Kei Kalak (Glen Mackie). Born in 1975, he is a traditional story-teller from Iama (Yam) Island. His lineage is typical of many islanders, possessing interesting backgrounds spliced from many cultures. He tells of stories of displacement, warring family factions and the teachings of Sigai, a PNG seafarer who pioneered the dangerous waters of the Torres Strait to find suitable land for his brothers and their families, their progeny now inhabiting the central islands of Torres Strait.
On Tuesday, 9 July 2013 at 6pm at Surry Hills Library, artist Glen Mackie will discusse his culturally rich Torres Strait Islander heritage and how it inspires his intricate linoprint artworks. Patricia Adjei, Indigenous Communications Coordinator and Legal Officer from the Copyright Agency | Viscopy, talks Copyright for Indigenous artists and resale royalties. Book here.
Surry Hills Library is at 405 Crown Street, Surry Hills.
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