Ceremony and Art in the Torres Strait Islands

Masks and headdresses were traditionally made in the Torres Strait Islands, also known as Zenadth Kes. These masks and headdresses are used during ceremonies, and they represent Ancestors or spirit beings. Traditionally, they were only made and used by men. For contemporary artists in the Zenadth Kes/Torres Strait Islands, historical examples of masks in museum collections are a vital way to preserve and even revive traditional cultural practices. Artist Alick Tipoti studied many such collections to inform his own works. Further along this wall, you can view his impressive ceremonial headdress, made using fibreglass. The front of the headdress depicts a crocodile, which is the totem of the artist’s clan, and the back end is the body and tail of a shark. The artist also uses cassowary feathers to refer to the historical connection of the Torres Strait Islands with the east coast of Papua New Guinea. Next to Crocodile Shark is a wooden mask. This is a rare surviving example of a 19th century mask made by an Ancestor, and is distinctive for showing the form of a human face, as such masks often represented Ancestors for ceremony. Today, artists are re-creating these types of masks, as can be seen in the nearby work of Vincent Babia.