Zugub, the mask, the spirits and the stars

Moving image: Explore cultures and art making around the world

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Rainforest people: Napolean Oui

Artist Napolean Oui, a Djabugay man, is focussed on his research about his cultural heritage. It is from this research and its findings that Napolean has developed his contemporary art practice and distinctive style of art making.

Alick Tipoti: Mask story

We join Alick in Cairns, North Queensland as he makes a series of masks used in performance. Like so much of the Torres Strait Islander culture the atmosphere in the studio is powerful. Alick speaks in his language Kalaw Lagaw Ya.

The master at work

The master at work is an intimate portrait of artist, Peter Churcher, as he becomes an Australian war artist and contemplates a move to Spain. Filmed in 2005 in his studio in Prahran, Melbourne.

Djambawa Marawili: Rock of the fire

In this film we join the great Yolngu leader and artist Djambawa Marawili in his homeland of Baniyala, nestled so beautifully on the shores of Blue Mud Bay in East Arnhem Land.

Courage: The art of William Eicholtz

In this film we join sculptor William Eicholtz on a journey of creativity. The journey is contemporary but reflecting ancient techniques as William creates an important and complex work, full of skill and meaning.

space * time * performance

space time performance is a film about the inflatable sculpture, A Sac of Rooms All Day Long, which was exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in an exhibition called Sensate: Bodies and Design.

Unpacking a wood kiln and selecting pots: Gwyn Hanssen Pigott

Now comes the nerve racking process of unpacking the kiln. Gwyn Hanssen Pigott unpacks the wood kiln and selects the final compositions of her works. Here the results confirm the joy of making.

Packing and firing a wood kiln: Gwyn Hanssen Pigott

Pots glazed and dry, Gwyn Hanssen Pigott undertakes the delicate and time consuming task of preparing the wood kiln for the firing.

Throwing, turning and altering: Gwyn Hanssen Pigott

Gwyn Hanssen Pigott demonstrates wheel throwing and turning and the altering of thrown forms.

Glazing: Gwyn Hanssen Pigott

This is a complex and delicate task of selecting forms and colours. Gwyn Hanssen Pigott demonstrates the way in which the pots are glazed.

The art of making: Gwyn Hanssen Pigott

In this series of films Gwyn Hanssen Pigott demonstrates each stage of the making process as she creates a series of porcelain wood-fired groupings of pots that are so highly regarded by collectors around the world.

Within art and nature with John Wolseley

If we look closely at John Wolseley’s paintings, we will begin to understand how nature works. Here laid out before us on the arches paper is the intricate weave of nature.

Maasai: Birds sing and lions roar

Birds sing and lions roar explores the relationship between the Maasai and the environment. As the drought deepens the men travel further and further in search of pastures.

Maasai: Keeping knowledge

Keeping knowledge explores the ways in which Maasai believe they can preserve their precious cultural heritage while at the same time considering new ways of community development.

Maasai: Food and celebration

Goats and cattle are a source of wealth in Maasai society and the animals are looked after with care.

Maasai: Changing times

We visit the house of Amos and Lilian and talk about the changing relationships between younger Maasai men and women.

Maasai: Enkang life

The women prepare a donkey transport, the men light a fire and a Maasai bride leaves the village.

Maasai: Women at work and women at home

Maasai women describe their way of life and we visit a Maasai hut, a medical dispensary and go shopping in a Maasai market.

Billy Missi

Billy Missi was inspired by his culture and concern for the environment, the sea and islands of the Torres Strait. The art making of a new generation of Torres Strait Islander artists inspired Billy, who was determined to make art his career.

A portrait in Barcelona

What is it like to have your portrait painted and why do people commission these paintings? How is the portrait constructed and how does the artist capture a likeness? How does history influence the art of portraiture?

Nyapanyapa: The constant artist

Each and every day Nyapanyapa worked at Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, the internationally famous art centre at Yirrkala in East Arnhem Land. The country, the land and sea, deep in long held knowledge, in culture, in law, in nature and in creativity.

The weavers of Langarra

We meet at the Milingimbi airport at 9 am for our charter to the small community of Langarra. This is a very special invitation from community elder Ruth Ngalmakarra to take us back to her homeland.

Masterpiece: The work

The chrysanthemum design is more traditional and that already existed in Kyoto, but this plum flower design pattern is my original idea.

Masterpiece: The artist

I am the third generation for this bamboo craft and I have been involved since the time of my grandfather.

Two old artists looking for food: Living forms of the landscape

We tour John’s painting and learn more about the plants that now come to life on its surface.

Two old artists looking for food: Painting as if through a veil

In this film we learn about the food plants of East Arnhem Land through the eyes, pen and brush of two great artists.

The smokers have taken the gold

We meet John Wolseley in a pub in a town called Rainbow and travelled back to his camp in the middle of Wyperfeld National Park.

Knowledge, painting and country

Knowledge, painting and country, the third film in this series about the culture of Western Arnhem Land, takes us on a journey to meet the region’s most respected elders.

Rock art and Yingana

Since deep time, Aboriginal people have painted images on the rock escarpments of the Stone Country.

The brush sings

In this film we meet the artists as they work at Injalak Arts and Crafts and we find out why art centres are so important to Aboriginal communities.

The artist's journey

Robert Jacks is recognised as one of Australia’s most significant abstract artists. During his early career, Robert was influenced by the pioneer of British abstract art, Ben Nicholson.

Gifu: A place in our hearts

The Japanese summer of 2019 and we take you on a journey around Gifu, the beautiful and mountainous prefecture in Central Honshu.

Bardangarrh-Bardangarrh

In this film Frankie Kelly and Bob Burruwal tell the stories of Bardangarrh-Bardangarrh and the message stick and the fire stick.

Bongolinjbongolinj

In this film Bob Burruwal and Lena Yarinkura tell us the story of Bongolinjbongolinj and the gift of a song.

Ngalbenbe

In this film Bob Burruwal and Lena Yarinkura tell us the story of Ngalbenbe, the sun story and the Djarngno sacred site.

Wurun fish spirit and the trapping story

My father taught me. He told me never to forget this story. He said do not lose my story, hold on to it.

Telling stories as art

Just like those old people, they used to tell us those stories, we used to listen to them. The older generations passed it on to us.

Mono

In this film Bob Burruwal and Lena Yarinkura tell us the story of Mono, the bones of two people and their dogs who die of thirst.

We walked on a carpet of stars

Julie Gough creates the work Locus for The Biennale of Sydney, the tension builds as deadlines approach.

Bush plum: The contemporary art of Angelina Pwerle

Central Australia is a place of extraordinary power and beauty, the art from this place is a mirror, a spiritual reflection of beliefs, of culture, of country, of its plants and animals.

Zugub, the mask, the spirits and the stars

In this documentary Alick Tipoti describes his culture, recalling the legends of his land through music and dance and art making. We travel to his home island of Badu in the Torres Strait.

Ian Waldron: My mother’s country

For the past twenty years Ian Waldron has been creating a visual record of life on the Gulf of Carpentaria, in particular the life of people on his traditional Kurtjar country.

Arahmaiani: Between the mountain and the sea

A performance work in 3 acts filmed in Indonesia and India. In these performances the physical and metaphysical meet.

Stephen Benwell: An Art Life

The second of two films about the Australian artist potter Stephen Benwell, this film was released in May 2019.

Stephen Benwell: A Still Life

We begin at the installation of Stephen's latest exhibition at Niagara Galleries in Melbourne - Stephen Benwell: Ceramics and Paintings 2019.

The sea, the feather and the dance machine: Arrival song

Ken Thaiday takes us on a remarkable and personal journey to Erub in the Torres Strait.

The sea, the feather and the dance machine: Leaving song

Erub is a place where music and dance are important foundations to cultural practice and creativity, once more on the rise through a revival in artistic activity.

a potters film

An award winning documentary about ceramic artist Gwyn Hanssen Pigott.

In this documentary Alick Tipoti describes his culture, recalling the legends of his land through music and dance and art making. We travel to his home island of Badu in the Torres Strait.

Artist, Alick Tipoti, is a leader in the resurgence of Torres Strait culture. He is the first Torres Strait artist to have been selected to exhibit at the Biennale of Sydney (2012). Alick takes with him on his artistic journey the recognition and blessing of elders from the Torres Strait Islands that enable the artist, through his artistic ability and cultural knowledge, to produce his contemporary versions of the art of the Torres Strait.

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Legends of the Torres Strait

My art is based on legends of the Torres Strait where I depict my interpretations of the land, the sea, the sky, and the many different living creatures and spirits that exist here – as with other artists, I use my art as an educational tool, teaching people about important cultural events, practices and beliefs from the past.

Artist, Alick Tipoti, is a leader in the resurgence of Torres Strait culture. He is the first Torres Strait artist to have been selected to exhibit at the Biennale of Sydney (2012).

Alick takes with him on his artistic journey the recognition and blessing of elders from the Torres Strait Islands that enable the artist, through his artistic ability and cultural knowledge, to produce his contemporary versions of the art of the Torres Strait.

As well as carving intricate and traditional Torres StraitIsland Melanesian designs into linoleum and vinyl blocks for the creation of prints on paper, Alick also constructs modern versions of customary Mawa masks. Traditionally Mawa masks, worn by descendants of Ay Waii of Badu Island in powerful ceremonial performances, these masks were once created from the carapace of Hawksbill turtles.

Alick’s contemporary creations are innovative both in variation from traditional style and use of fibreglass to replicate turtle carapace. With a backdrop of heavenly island landscapes, the film goer visits Alick’s home community, Wakaydh Mudhawlag (Wakaydh Village) on Badu Island.

At the Badhulgaw Kuthinaw Mudh (Badu Island Art Centre) local artists create linocut prints, setting the scene for Alick to explain why it is vitally important to guard the knowledge and protocols of the extraordinary and intricate culture of the Torres Strait Islands.

In recognition of Alick Tipoti’s cultural leadership and his skill as an artist this film has been adapted for the Torres Strait Islander Gallery, National Museum of Australia, Canberra and forms part of the gallery’s permanent exhibition about Torres Strait Islander culture.

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Journalist, Nicolas Rothwell describes Alick:

“At once contemporary and traditional, youthful and steeped in the past, instinctual and possessed of analytic rigour, Tipoti is a man suspended between distinct cultures and reflective realms. The upshot is a new kind of Islander art, modern in its techniques, rich in customary knowledge, replete with veiled, half-submerged themes”.

Peter Hylands says:

“This is both a powerful and visually compelling documentary, once more describing the extraordinary skills of Australia’s Indigenous people. In our films we wish to provide people in Australia and elsewhere in the world with a window into the lives and practices of Indigenous people.

In Australia, these films build knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as we work with some of the most skilful and outstanding individuals in the Indigenous world. We encourage young people to engage with these films, closing the gap for future generations.

In his film, Alick speaks about his responsibilities in communicating his culture to the world, his leadership will inspire younger generations of Torres Strait Islanders and beyond to be immensely proud of their cultures. In one way Alick will provide a framework that encourages new paths to creativity and learning, the development of skills and the guardianship of cultural heritage including language”.

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