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Gail Mabo / Australia b.1965 / Tagai 2017 / Bamboo, twine, seashells / Commissioned 2018 with funds from Thomas Bradley QC through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Gail Mabo
Gail MaboTagai 2018
On Display: GOMA, Gallery 3.5
In this suite of four works by Gail Mabo, she uses bamboo, shells and twine to elucidate the work of her father Koiki Mabo, who achieved the successful Native Title claim over family lands on Mer (Murray Island) 25 years ago. Tagai and Zenadth Kes are her Torres Strait Islander interpretations of early navigational maps used within the Pacific region, and Mabo Case 1 and Mabo Case 2 are maps of Mer derived from drawings by Koiki Mabo at the time of the landmark legal determination. His felt-tipped pen markings demonstrating precise, detailed knowledge of clan boundaries, were vital to the Court’s decision (the original A4-sized drawings are held by the National Library of Australia).
Tagai is the traditional name of the star constellation Islanders consult for safe navigation through the Torres Strait from island to island. Its position dictates the timing of seasonal rituals for planting, harvesting and hunting and, importantly for the Mabo family, includes a star within the constellation named in 2015 in honour of Koiki Mabo.
Gail Mabo, dancer, actor and visual artist, lives in Townsville, Queensland. She commenced her dance career in 1979 with the Townsville-based New Blood Dance Troupe and continued her studies in traditional and contemporary movement with NAISDA in Sydney. She danced in Tracey Moffatt’s 1986 short film “Watch Out” and acted in Moffatt’s 1985 film “Nice Coloured Girls”. She further developed her career as a choreographer and also directed the stage show “Koiki” which celebrated her father’s life as a revered land rights activist.
Mabo began studies in visual arts in 2004 at the Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE, and was subsequently included in various group exhibitions. In 2006 and 2007 she held solo exhibitions at the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, and has exhibited annually at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair. In 2017, as one of the Featured Artists, she received the CIAF Innovation Award.