Hello, Mariko here again – wishing you a happy 2012!

After some time away from the museum for the Christmas-New Year break, I have returned a bit more refreshed and determined to tackle the rest of my Museum Studies internship project involving the museum’s Indigenous Communities collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artwork. I’ll be finishing up the internship in a few weeks, with my assessment work due in February (cue nervous giggling).

A very nice belated Christmas present was receiving image reproduction approval early last week from Billy Missi, an Indigenous artist from the Torres Strait Islands, which are located between Queensland and Papua New Guinea. This means that we are now able to share images of Billy’s visually-stunning artworks from the museum’s collection with audiences online.

Billy is particularly well-known in Australia and internationally as a leading printmaker of the Torres Strait. The museum has eight linocuts which were created and printed by Billy in association with KickArts Fine Art Printmaking studio, Djumbunji Press in Cairns. These were recently displayed in last year’s NAIDOC Week exhibition at the museum.

Billy’s linocuts are striking, being predominantly black and white with hand-painted splashes of greens, yellows, reds and blues. The subject matter of the linocuts show Billy’s interpretations of Zenadh Kes (Torres Strait) maritime cultural heritage, traditions and life – as passed between Elders and young people on the islands over many generations, in the forms of traditional knowledges, story-telling, song, dance and art.

Billy painting "Mudhaw Warul (Sheltered Turtles Behind the Reef)"

"Mudhaw Warul (Sheltered Turtles Behind the Reef)"

Using the traditional Torres Strait Uruy Dhangadh zig-zag patterning style (inspired by natural objects such as animal bones and shell patterns), Billy portrays turtles, Torres Strait pigeons, interactions between Zenadh Kes and Papua New Guinean peoples and cultures, and the overarching influence of the cosmos on daily life in the region.

I first came across Billy’s work during my first internship in early 2011, when I was assisting senior curator, Lindsey Shaw with image reproduction approvals for the exhibition. I thought his works were an interesting combination of the traditional and contemporary, as demonstrated in his use of symbolism, abstraction, narrative and printmaking techniques. After my internship, I brought my family in to the museum to show them the exhibition I could say I played a small part in.

When I returned to the curatorial department late last year, it was a really nice surprise to find the display board showing Billy’s biography and the above picture of Billy, as used in the exhibition, proudly hung on the wall behind my desk. It is a nice reminder for me every time I come in of what I enjoy about working in the Indigenous Communities collection.

Cheers, Mariko

PS: If you missed my last post, you can find it here.