ROBERT TOMMY PAU | 'Bok Fight' | Linocut

Linocut printed in black ink from one block

Edition of 10, 2013

Paper size: 565 x 760mm

Printed by Elizabeth Hunter

Artwork story: Bok fight was played when the segmented grass would grow after the rain season. This grass is a ridged grass that also contains water the we would chew on when thirsty. We made bow and used the bok as the arrows. This was a dangerous game but we never tried to hurt anyone but would rather flee or surrender then cause injury.
The artwork show the environment we played in had potential dangerous elements that we were aware of and not to confront or look out for, such as the snakes or hornet.

Tommy is a descendant of the Eastern Torres Strait Islands, Australian Aboriginal, Papua New Guinea, Pacific Islander and Asia. He speaks Torres Strait Creole and Australian English. He was taught about the need to keep culture strong through cultural practice by his father. He has a strong commitment to keeping old traditions alive and believes that culture must remain true to the past and move with time to exist in the future. Tommy has considerable experience in the arts and his art forms of choice include printmaking, painting and sculpture.