Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/103334
artspace Koedal Kazil Garr Yatharmik, which translates as 'crocodile protecting its young'. a lifetime of ceremony and the guarding of these secrets within traditional and public domains." Alick needs to tread carefully, walking a precarious line between sharing cultural information and revealing sacred secrets. When creating his piece for the Biennale of Sydney, he needed the blessing of his elders and cultural mentors to compose and choreograph chants to accompany the piece and he made sure they were not sacred in nature. Like Carly Lane, filmmaker Peter Hyland is convinced that Australian Indigenous art makes a vital contribution to international culture, and his third documentary on the subject tells Alick's story. Titled Zugub, The Mask, The Spirits and The Stars, the film explores Alick's world from his own perspective. Peter lets Alick tell his own story, which he does through dance, music and, of course, his art. He tells Peter, "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." Indeed, Alick's prints are replete with images of turtles, birds, fish and dugongs, as well as traditional totems, dances and rituals. His latest work has been an evolution: taking the traditional wooden Mawa masks of the Torres Strait and re-creating them in fibreglass on a large scale, with some standing well over a metre tall. It's these masks that were chosen for the Indigenous Art Triennial and contributed to Alick being selected for the Accelerate trip to the UK. To Alick, the trip was priceless, as most of our Torres Strait Islander collections currently reside in museums and galleries in the UK. When he returned he told the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair team, "The purpose of my trip was to visit all the Torres Strait Islander masks all over the UK. All of the masks were very significant to me on a personal level and a professional level. Every inch of that journey was more than worth it … more than what I was expecting. I can now say that I have seen more Torres Strait Islander masks than any other Torres Strait Islander." Interestingly, while those around him seem to recognise the cultural importance of his work on an international scale, Alick himself is simply on a mission to teach future generations of Torres Strait Islanders the stories of their ancestors. And he does it beautifully. "Alick's linocuts are full of symbolism and often secret, sacred information." XX Gapul depicts the gapu (suckerfish), which Alick's ancestors used to catch turtles and dugongs.