Land Sea Sky – Charting our place in the universe
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Artist StatementLand Sea SkyThe Islanders of the Torres Strait reside in a narrow waterway between the land masses of Zai Dagam Daudai [Australia] in the south and Naigai Dagam Daudai [Papua New Guinea] in the north where the Coral and Arafura Seas meet in one of the most fragile and intricate waterways in the world, a seafaring race of indigenous people, proud and dignified, whose spirituality is derived from ancestral ties to the land, the sea and the sky.Torres Strait Islander culture is closely linked to the stars. They inform Islander laws, customs and practices that are recorded and handed down in the form of story, song, dance, ceremony and artefacts.Islander astronomy also contains practical information about the natural world, which is essential for survival and cultural continuity. Islander culture is linked to Tagai – the creation deity that is represented by a constellation of stars that spans across the southern sky (Artist statement 2016).
Artist statement, 2017The Islanders of the Torres Strait reside in a narrow waterway between the land masses of Zai Dagam Daudai (Australia) in the south and Naigai Dagam Daudai (Papua New Guinea) in the north where the Coral and Arafura Seas meet in one of the most fragile and intricate waterways in the world, a seafaring race of indigenous people, proud and dignified, whose spirituality is derived from ancestral ties to the land, the sea and the sky.Torres Strait Islander culture is closely linked to the stars. They inform Islander laws, customs and practices that are recorded and handed down in the form of story, song, dance, ceremony and artefacts.Islander astronomy also contains practical information about the natural world, which is essential for survival and cultural continuity. Islander culture is linked to Tagai – the creation deity that is represented by a constellation of stars that spans across the southern sky.