BAIZAM TIRIG (SHARKS TEETH) MERIAN MASK/HEADDRESS (TORRES STRAIT ISLANDS), 2008
RICARDO IDAGI
bamboo, coconut leaf, pandanus raffia, natural pigments, feathers, mussel shell, seed pods, goa nuts and cane
86.0 x 30.0 x 40.0 cm
Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne
The Peter and Renate Nahum Collection of Aboriginal Art, London, acquired from the above in 2008
Ricardo Idagi: Sor Peklam – From The Shell, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne, 15 October – 8 November 2008, cat. 6 (illus. in exhibition catalogue)
Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 25 July – 15 November 2009 (winner)
This work was included in a group of four masks at Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards that were awarded the $50,000 first prize. These headdresses and masks are created using traditional tools and materials such as shell, feathers, seeds, hair, cane, raffia, nuts and ochre. They are a celebration of the living culture of the Torres Strait Islands, and the fusion of its religion, law and art.