Journey

Artist Brian Robinson (1973)

Date1993

Object number00018459

NameLinocut

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsSheet: 560 × 721 mm
Mount / Matt size: 628 × 866 mm
Image: 323 × 497 mm
D Fini frame

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA linocut print on paper by Brian Robinson titled 'Journey' depicting an outrigger canoe and with a dugong, stingray and turtle swimming through the ocean above. There are seven shields placed above and below the water. History"The reef-strewn passage known as Torres Strait, between Cape York at the northeast tip of Zai Dagm Daudai mainland Australia and the south west coast of Naigai Dagam Daudai Papua New Guinea, is only a little over 150 kilometres wide but contains over 100 islands, islets, coral reefs and cays. Because of the regions marine environment, canoes were of vital importance in the Strait as they were the only means of transport for trading, hunting, fishing and warfare between the islands, mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea. Learning about the currents, passages, reefs, tides, weather conditions and winds of the Strait, and to navigate by the stars was an important part of a young Islanders education. The large gul, the splendorous traditional double outrigger canoes from Torres Strait, measuring up to 21 meters in length, is the largest, most sophisticated and complex watercraft developed by Indigenous Australians. The grandeur of these vessels and their cultural importance to Torres Strait Islander communities meant that they were of high value and extremely hard to come by. The dugout hull was traded from the Fly River delta and then later fitted with twin outriggers, washstrakes, masts and sails made from pandanus matting. Further adornment such as canoe figureheads, woven storage crates, sago leaves and white cowrie shells were added at the canoe's final destination. The canoe trade followed a complex system of ordering, quality control, payment [generally human heads, bailer and trumpet shells and iron pieces from wrecks] and delivery. Dugout canoes of different forms, with single or double outriggers in Cape York, have been adopted from Torres Strait and New Guinea neighbours, as early as 3,000 years ago. The range and integration of cultural borrowing from Melanesia, including bark cloth, shell fishhooks and smoking pipes, support their early adoption and leave open the possibility of even earlier origins, extending to contacts with pre-Lapita people more than 3000 years ago. " - Brian Robinson triebSTUDIOSignificanceCanoes were of vital importance in the Torres Strait as they were the only means of transport for trading, hunting, fishing and warfare between the islands, mainland Australia and Papua New Guinea. This print by Brian Robinson shows the cultural and practical significance of canoes in Torres Strait life and how the three sea creatures - dugong, stingray and turtle - that were regularly hunted were all connected.