T-shirt, Kaikazi Ia

Glen Mackie is a First Nations artist and printmaker, a proud Iama man, currently residing on Yidinji Country (Queensland).

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.