Glen Mackie is a First Nations artist and printmaker, a proud Iama man, currently residing on Yidinji Country (Queensland).
2017
marks the start of our creative collaboration
5
exclusive artworks licensed and celebrated
51
unique products made for impact
Introduction
Glen (Kei Kalak) was born on Thursday Island, Torres Strait and is respected as a leader of the Torres Strait Islander printmaking movement that began in Queensland in the 1990s.
The bold minar, or infill design style in Glen Mackie’s work incorporates family totemic designs and his own invented geometric repeating water pattern. He retells the myths and legendary stories he inherited from older family members. As one of Yam Island’s few practising artists, he feels a deep responsibility to keep alive the sacred stories of the four brothers who travelled from the north before memory and settled in Zenadh Kes, more commonly known as the central and eastern Torres Strait Islands.
Glen’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and his pieces are represented in public and private collections in Australia and overseas. He has received numerous art awards and undertaken significant public art commissions.
Tribe: Iama (Yam)
Language: Kala Lagaw Ya (Central Torres Straits)
Totems: Hammerhead Shark (Kurrs); Crocodile (Koedal)
"The bold minar, or infill design style in my work incorporates family totemic designs and my own invented geometric repeating water pattern. I retell the myths and legendary stories I inherited from older family members."
Work with Glen
Custom art commissions are available. Collaborating with you to conceive a unique composition, size and colour palette, Glen is dedicated to creating an artwork that resonates with your business or cause.
For more information contact Life Apparel and we will get you in touch with Glen.
Story: The 2026 theme marks five decades of NAIDOC as a nationally recognised movement celebrating First Nations culture, resilience and community leadership. It reflects on the journey and the role NAIDOC continues to play in building respect, understanding and a shared future.
My Warr (inherited designs) depict ancient Torres Strait Islander carving patterns traditionally used to decorate boats, canoes, masks (including turtle shell), and ritual objects. Some patterns represent traditional totems, such as the crocodile and the many varieties of shark as well as figures of men and women. Other designs act as navigational guides across the Islands, like maps, and include sound patterns, wave formations, and the movements of currents.
Together, these patterns reflect the footprints of Torres Strait Islander people, designed and carved over thousands of years, and continuing through contemporary artists who carry these traditions forward today.
Kaikazi Ia
Kaikazi Ia
Medium: Mixed Media On Paper Year: 2023
Story: Elders are important teachers of culture. "Kaikazi ia" means "old words." Athe (grandfather) is teaching a young boy cultural ways through story and song, asserting community values and life skills as he approaches adulthood. The laws of Malu are sung, made visible by the shark-tooth linear pattern minar (also representing the beat of the warup, a traditional drum) and run from the mouth of Athe to Siu, the younger brother of Malu, depicted running with the wind in his canoe, warning of the imminent onset of the cyclone season. The hammerhead shark beside the canoe is Glen’s major totem.
Athe’s voice carries up to the night sky where Tagai, the warrior, is depicted. Tagai is an important constellation Torres Strait Islanders use for navigation at night. The traditional patterning and basket designs refer to the cycle of the seasons—when to perform a ceremony for hunting waru (turtle) and when to plant and harvest crops such as yam. Traditionally, a ceremony was performed to ensure a successful hunt or harvest, appealing to the spirits of nature well in advance to guarantee a more abundant yield.
Tradition
Tradition
Medium: Mixed Media On Paper Year: 2020
Story: This design is about the lore* of the land. The man with the eagle wings is the holy man. He is the teacher. He holds the lore and teaches the lore. The Rainbow Serpent created the land and animals, which is a common creation story used across the Australian mainland and islands by its Indigenous people.
The man with the ‘Warup’ drum is teaching you about the Southern Cross constellation. As a Torres Strait Islander, my people call this constellation ‘Tagai’. It is a calendar for us, still used today, passed down from generation to generation. It was verbally taught to us about the land and sea.
*The term 'lore' refers to the customs and stories the Aboriginal peoples learned from the Dreamtime. Aboriginal lore was passed on through the generations through songs, stories, and dance, governing all aspects of traditional life.
Our Future
Our Future
Medium: Mixed Media On Paper Year: 2025
Story: The Naidoc 2025 theme encourages all to celebrate past achievements while looking ahead to a future shaped by young leaders, empowered communities, and the enduring wisdom of ancestral knowledge.
“This artwork depicts an Elder teaching young children about their culture, ensuring they carry it into the future. The waves symbolise the path they navigate along the way, while the canoe represents the journeys they must undertake in life.”
Love Of Culture
Love Of Culture
Medium: Mixed Media On Paper Year: 2017
Story: This artwork pays homage to the women of the Torres Strait Islands, representing their livelihood and sacred labour, often carried out in groups.
The hair comb and island mat symbolise the important bonds between the women, highlighting their unity and shared experiences. The bridal pendant, crafted from the shell of the Hawksbill Turtle by the groom, serves as the equivalent of a wedding ring, marking the sacred bond of marriage. The garden stick and yam represent the time when women study the Tagai constellation at night to determine the best time to plant yams, ensuring a timely harvest for the first rainy season.
It is the younger girls' responsibility to keep the coconut water container full for the men to take on their boat journeys to hunt for turtles and dugongs. If the hunt is unsuccessful, the women dig up yams and taro from the garden, preparing them for the men’s return. The garden food serves as both a staple and a backup. The coconut scraper is used to extract the white flesh from coconuts, which the women use to make coconut milk and coconut oil for cooking and various other purposes, such as hair treatments.
The three frangipani flowers signify different statuses: marriage, widowhood, and being single. Depending on where the flower is placed on the head, it conveys different meanings: in the middle or back of the head signifies a widow, on the right signifies a single woman, and on the left signifies a married woman.
Love Of Culture depicts the essential roles and traditions of Torres Strait Islander women, celebrating their enduring cultural heritage.
Life Apparel is a Member & Signatory of the Indigenous Art Code.
This means we are committed to fair and ethical trade with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, and transparency in the promotion and sale of artwork. As a Dealer Member and signatory to the Code we must act fairly, honestly, professionally and in good conscience in all direct or indirect dealings with artists.
Subscribe for updates, community events, member offers and new product drops.
Acknowledgement Of Country
Life Apparel celebrates and acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging for their generosity and custodianship of Country throughout Australia.
We recognise and honour the ongoing connection and deep spiritual relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have to this Country, and acknowledge the unique role they play in caring for and protecting it for future generations. As an Australian-led boutique label and proud allies, we demonstrate our respect for First Nations peoples through our commitments to environmentally sustainable and ethical business practices. We recognise their continuing connection to land and waters, and thank them for protecting our natural resources and ecosystems.
Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.
