TIPOTI NONA | 'Kaiar Rou Dun' | Monoprint V.E. 003

"The lines depicted on the Dhangal (dugong) show the traditional cuts that are used by the people of my home, Badu Island. The name of this cut is kaiar rou dun. We use this method to ensure that none of the meat and precious fat is wasted. The cuts have been utilised to ensure that all of the Island families are provided for. Particular cuts -for example from the tail – are shared amongst those who have the most standing in the community. There is also a hierarchy according to where you sit in the boat, the meat and the cuts you receive. If you sit in the back of the boat you get particular cuts, in the middle another cut etc." 
-Tipoti Nona

Tipoti has been teaching young men to hunt for decades as his Uncles did before him. As their skills increase, they move up the boat hierarchy. Once their uncle sees that the boy is ready, he has his facial hair shaved and is sent out to do his first kill at about age 16 or 17, killing the Dhangal with their bare hands. Certain cuts are always eaten on the beach after the hunters arrive back onshore and the Island families make their way down to the beach to get their cut.

Tipoti Nona began his arts practice as a carver, honing his skills in wood, mother-of-pearl, and Bailer shell, before branching into lino and monoprints.

In his life as a hunter and fisher Tipoti’s spears are known to be the best - all the balas want one of Tipoti’s waps (traditional dhangal hunting spear) – and it is him the tourists are told about.

Tipoti’s artwork revolves around his life as a traditional hunter, crayfish diver, and fisherman. At heart, both practices share the same quality. To be successful, the artist and hunter must be able to transcend the self and become one with the world around them, whether it be with the dhangal (dugong) as they move through the ocean in search of food, or when achieving the fine, saw-tooth detail of a thupmul’s (file ray) tail.

Cinematic in quality, as though the camera has narrowed its gaze to focus right in on a particular season or event, Tipoti’s art captures the essential details that are missed in the everyday; exciting the viewer to new knowledge and understanding of the world they inhabit.

Tipoti’s artwork is in the Collection of the Australian Embassy in Moscow.

TIPOTI NONA | 'Kaiar Rou Dun' | 2025 | Monoprint V.E. 003 | 784 (h) x 1060 (w) mm