Gail Mabo
Thul Garrie Waja / Currumbilbarra / Townsville, Qld
Tagai (the warrior in the sky) is the name of the star constellation that is used to navigate throughout the Torres Strait Islands. It is also used to dictate the time of rituals associated with planting, harvesting and hunting. When visiting the region, you would be provided with a similar map made of bamboo and seashells to guide you between islands. Tagai is a part of a powerful political narrative that negates terra nullius.
About the Artist
Gail Mabo is a Meriam woman from Mer Island in the Torres Strait. She is a multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, installation, printmaking and painting, and has a strong background in dance and performance.
Gail�s art practice deals with contemporary expressions of Indigenous identity, and she mines personal experience of her family�s politically active heritage and ancient cultural knowledge in the creation of her artworks.
Gail has been included in several major group exhibitions including Time and Tides: Art in the Torres Strait Islands at the Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art in 2018 and Between the Moon and Stars at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in 2019. Her most recent exhibition, House of Cards, held at Umbrella Studio in Gimuy/Cairns, was an ode to the lives and knowledge of her parents, Eddie �Koiki� Mabo (1936�1992) and Bonita Mabo (1943�2018).
Gail�s work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of NSW and Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art as well as many private collections.
