Kulap

Medium: Linocut

$880.00 (Incl GST)

My latest artwork, Kulap (Matchbox Bean), celebrates the importance of the Kulap seed to Torres Strait Islanders.

We collect the Kulap beans during Naigai (dry season), when they are out in abundance. 

We have many different uses for the Kulap in our culture: we use the beans for dancing, in the creation of ceremonial masks and for other cultural artefacts.

This particular story is based on the shaker which you can see at the right of the image. When our Dancers perform our traditional dance they use them to mark time and keep the beat.

Torres Strait Island people look for Kulap after the big tides at the end of the monsoon when they are washed up on shore right across the islands.

Joseph Au 2024