Context (CMS Context)
The print was obtained with the assistance of the Crowther Beynon Fund as part of Anita Herle's background research for "Torres Strait Islanders: An Exhibition Marking the Centenary of the 1898 Anthropological Expedition". The artist, Alick Tipoti (originally from Badu Island) is one of a small but growing number of contemporary Islander artists. At the time of collection Alick (with Dennis Nona) was one of two Islander artists who were studying at the Fine Arts School of the Australian National University in Canberra. Both artists are known for their innovative use of "traditional" imagery. Their work often incorporates representations of historic Islander artefacts (including some of those collected by Haddon). Framed with the assistance of the Fitzwilliam museum for the exhibiton.
Event Date 1/4/1999
Author: maa

Description (CMS Description)
Lino cut print entitled "Mura Uruiaw Danka" (For the eyes of every living creature). Black ink on white paper with green highlights. Central image of heroic warriors wearing daris - the two in the foreground are highlighted brown with green waist and leg ornaments. Between the warriors is a representation of Waiet, a powerful Meriam cult figure. The image is taken from the small wooden model made for Haddon (CUMAA Z 9453) of a 1 - 1.2 m turtle-shell representation of Waiet which was kept in a cave high up on Waier island (this figure is now in the Queensland museum). Above the warriors are a row of stylized human heads and a row of round grass houses on stilts. A tiger shark, dugong and hammerhead shark hang from trees at the top. Two stylized human faces appear at the top centre. These images appear to be adapted from C19th turtle-shell masks, the one on the right is very similar to CUMAA Z 9400. Below the warriors is a large green crocodile and numerous small sea creatures. Print numbered 7/70 and signed by the artist Alick Tipoti and dated 1996.
Alick Tipoti's statement reads "Mura Uruiaw Danaka (For the eye's of every living creatures).
The eyes of the earth focus on the drums of the fighting warriors while her son's eyes below the leaves watch the approaching warriors.
When the stone-headed club was swung, the movements of the warrior's totem, the crocodile, stopped - it felt the strength being drawn from it when all sea creatures are shattered by the loud noise of the club thudding aginst the skulls, victims then climb the strength of death as seven elderly ancestors look on.
When the climbing victims pass the heavens of their people, eight whips, representing the tentacles of the octopus, begin to whip their village... It was beleived that this truly happened in the traditional way of life of the Torres Strait Islanders.
The head hunter's Charms help him survive this deadly battle but his eyes are always watching his collection of skulls, day and night.
Revenge has began for the six masks hanging on to the poles. These six masks represent the faces of his six brothers who were killed during the previous battle. A baidtham (tiger shark), Kursi (hammerhead), and Dthangal (dugong) hang beside the masks, as these creatures were sacrificed to their gods.
The two large masks represent the conflicting emotions of the main warriors depicted. As the warrior on the right is killed, the clawed mask shows his terror and suffering, while the other mask shows the confidence and aggression of it's triumphant keeper.
The eyes of the four winds which blow from the four corners of the earth watched the ongoing battle... as the victims collapses, his tradition and strength die with him.
Head hunting was once truly the most distinctive and dangerous quest throughout the islands of the Torres Strait."
Event Date 1/4/1999
Author: maa

Context (CMS Context)
The display label for the object reads: 'Mura Uruwai Danka (For the eyes of every living creature)
Alick Tipoti, Torres Strait, Australia, 1996
Lino cut print
The central image depicts two heroic warriors in battle, beneath a row of human skulls. They are wearing dhari headdresses and holding gabagaba clubs. The warriors are surrounded by ancestral figures and various totemic creatures, including a large crocodile. A tiger shark, dugong and hammerhead shark hang from the trees in sacrifice.
Contemporary Torres Strait Islander artists often incorporate images of historic objects into their work. Material collected by Alfred Haddon is particularly well known. Two turtle shell masks and the model of Waiet, displayed in the adjacent case, are shown here.
Collected by Anita Herle with the assistance of the Crowther-Beynon Fund, 1997.160.
Alick Tipoti with Mura Uruiaw Danka at the Australian National University School of Art Canberra, 1996. Photoe: Anita Herle.'
Event Date 17/6/2013
Author: Remke van der Velden