For the first time from the National Maritime Museum Collection, we bring together works by Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait Islands) artist Alick Tipoti.

With over 25 years of art practice, Tipoti is respected for his work in regenerating cultural knowledge and language. Guided by the traditional cultural practices of his people, Tipoti’s storytelling encompasses traditional cosmology, marine environments and ocean conservation – focusing on what it means to be a sea person.

My art is all about telling and illustrating the stories my father told me. The one thing I will never do is let my forefathers' words be lost.

Mariw Minaral brings together some of the finest examples of Tipoti’s unique and intricate linocut printmaking practice. The exhibition will also showcase his award-winning sculptural works, contemporary masks and film.

Tipoti is highly revered due to his sophistication and ability to spread his concerns and messages through his art, and has won both national and international acclaim.

Main image: Kaygasiw Usul, Alick Tipoti. Australian National Maritime Museum Collection 00054384. Purchased with funds from the Sid Faithfull and Christine Sadler program supporting Contemporary Indigenous Maritime Heritage in Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands through The Australian National Maritime Museum Foundation.