David Bosun, Billy Missi and Dennis Nona painting on the window at the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, London during their exhibition in 2001
The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of some 270 islands off the northernmost tip of Queensland, set between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Over millennia of interaction with different sea-going peoples (Papua New Guineans, Australian aboriginals, Malaysians, and – more recently – Europeans and white Australians) they have evolved their own highly distinct culture – celebrating the cycles of life and nature.
Noted, historically, for their skill in carving masks and other ceremonial objects, they now have a reputation for their technically daring print-making. Leading artists, such as Dennis Nona, Alick Tipoti, and Billy Missi, often work in linocut on a large scale, and combine densely worked passages of traditional design with the vivid record of traditional myth and story.
