We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
James Eseli / Kala Lagaw Ya people / Australia 1929–2009 / Ubirikubiri (Crocodile) headdress 2004 / Cotton tree wood, enamel paint, pencil, feathers, plastic, raffia, copper wire, toothpicks, lead pencil, string, fixative, aluminium, glass marbles / 17 components: 80 x 55 x 177cm (complete); crocodile: 81 x 179 x 50cm; feathers (10): ranging from 14 x 20.7cm to 24.5 x 21.5cm; birds: 17.5 x 22.7 x 24.3cm, 26.4 x 22.9 x 25.6cm, 10 x 20 x 4.8cm, 8.5 x 21.7 x 5.2cm, 8 x 22 x 4.5cm, 10 x 21 x 4.7cm / Purchased 2005 through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Grant / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © The Estate of James Eseli
James EseliUbirikubiri (Crocodile) headdress 2004
Not Currently on Display
Ubirikubiri is an ancestral spirit figure from the Torres Strait in the form of a crocodile, and its accompanying song and dance come from Mabuiag Island. The performance brings the crocodile (portrayed by a male dancer) into contact with villagers (played by women). In stylised movements, the crocodile and villagers act out their roles: the crocodile is alert and looking for prey while the villagers watch from a safe distance. Though large, this headdress is still wearable for performance: the raffia hangs down to disguise the wearer’s face.
Another dimension is introduced through the small sanderling birds, believed to have a connection with crocodiles: sometimes seen on the backs of the reptiles, here sanderling effigies appear on the dance ground. A ritual can also be performed using the Ubirikubiri headdress, and when James Eseli wanted to seek guidance from his ancestors in dreams, he would rest his head on Ubirikubiri to sleep.
Due to the fears of Japan invading Australia during World War Two, James Eseli (1929—2009) was one of many Torres Strait Island children taken from his home island to the safety of Waiben (Thursday Island). This relocation had an effect on the artist which can be seen in some of his other works.