Malu: Where Tides Leave Their Mark

In the beginning, spirits and deities created the Islander world. Ancestors like Sida of Papua New Guinea, Gelam of Moa, and Waiet of Mabuiag shaped the islands, giving each unique attributes: The fertile abundance of Mer, the inland waters of Erub, and the rugged rocky foreshores of Moa.

Malu, the Kala Lagaw Ya word for sea/ocean, extends beyond a simple description of water. It speaks of a living ancestral realm binding Torres Strait Islander people to spirit, memory, navigation, and identity.

In this exhibition, the ocean becomes both archive and witness, honouring Malu as both origin and living presence – keeper of memory where every tide, wave, and current leaves marks upon the land, people, and the spirit of Sea Country.

This exhibition is located in the Level 1 corridor.

Brian Robinson

Born in 1973 on Waiben, Thursday Island, where horizons are fluid and the boundaries between sea, sky, and spirit dissolve. Robinson is a Maluyligal man of the Western Torres Strait, a Wuthathi man of the shimmering silica sands of Shelburne Bay, a descendant of the Dayak peoples of Sarawak, connected to the Villaflor family of the Philippines, and carries ancestral echoes of Scotland and England. Diverse inheritances inform every aspect of his creative life.

Raised within a family of fisher folk whose Roman Catholic faith coexisted with traditional Islander beliefs, Robinson’s practice is deeply shaped by the sea – Malu.

Punctuated with humour, wonder and visual complexity, Robinson’s works invite audiences into immersive narratives where cultural icons are transformed into spiritual entities.