Brian Robinson

Ilan mask 1

11
votes

Brian Robinson

Ilan mask 1

Edition: 30
Medium: Etching printed in two colours from one plate with Chine Collé
Size: 49 x 18 cm
Year: 2010
Price: $ 450

Artistic practice portrayed a vital role in everyday life, as this form of expression gave shape to the Islander’s gods. Their inherent spirituality derived from ancestral ties to the land and sea. This spirit world was given form through the creation of ritual objects, in particular ceremonial masks used in dance.
The mask was the medium by which Islanders could evoke spiritual protection during war, hunting, initiation and cult practices and increase ceremonies, which meant continued abundance of food stock as well as also determining an individual’s position in society.
Masks constructed from turtleshell and wood were the most distinctive and highly embellished of all objects from the Torres Strait artisans. Turtleshell masks were a central component to ritual observance throughout most of the islands in the Western, Eastern and Central groups but the Top Western Islands also used wooden masks obtained via trade and exchange.

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