Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/103334
artspace Spirits, stories and secrets Carver and printmaker Alick Tipoti connects with the past to ensure his culture has a future, says Simone Henderson-Smart. It's been Kuyku Garparthamai Mabaig, which means 'headhunter'. XVIII a big year for artist Alick Tipoti. Not only was he the first Torres Strait Islander selected to exhibit in the influential Biennale of Sydney (held for the 18th time in 2012), his work was included in the National Gallery's Indigenous Art Triennial, he was the subject of a documentary that premiered at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair and he travelled to the UK with Accelerate: Indigenous Australian Creative Leadership Programme. This recognition of Alick's talent ensures his artworks will be coveted by collectors for years to come. Alick grew up on Badu Island, in Torres Strait, amid a culture rich in dance, storytelling and woodcarving. His ancestors were dance masters and choreographers who used the medium of dance to pass down stories through the generations and keep Torres Strait culture alive. Alick chose another medium: his art. His talent for woodcarving translated easily to linocut printmaking and his pieces are some of the most intricate and skilful to come out of the region. The piece exhibited at the Biennale of Sydney was a monumental 131cm x 835cm linocut titled 'Girelal', which translates as 'dance'. Indigenous arts industry pioneer Theo Tremblay claims the work is the world's largest linocut printed from one block onto a single piece of paper, and not only shows artistic prowess but is also technically extraordinary. In a nod to Alick's dance heritage, the print depicts the link between the physical and spiritual worlds during ritualistic chanting, dancing and storytelling, as well as some of the totems associated with the traditional stories being told. This link between the physical and the spiritual pervades everything Alick does. He has been endowed with the traditional name 'Zugub', which enables him to connect with the spirits of his ancestors, the Zugubal. Alick says he can feel the spirits guiding him when he is creating: "When I work late at night,