Gubaw Mari

Size: 76cm x 56cm

Medium: Lino Print

Category: Art Prints / Etchings

$440.00 (Incl GST)

This piece is about my interpretation of a traditional mask and is based on the importance of the wind and the ocean to my people.It tells how the wind determines all sea life, weed, grasses and the sea animals like dugong and crayfish under the ocean.It is based on traditional mask totem designs, and includes a breastplate which depicts some of the sea animals which are at the mercy of the wind through the tides and waves.I was inspired by the winds affecting the sea and how when out in our dinghies, we often see spinning waterspouts above the water connecting the sea to the clouds, known as baiwa in our language.The mask is smiling. To my ancestors, the sea is smiling when the ocean surface is rough. It is our belief that the smiling, rough sea is beckoning to you to accept a sea voyage, but that it is a trick, and you must consider your chances of survival before accepting the challenge thrown to you by the sea.Michael Nona 2011