Description
Details
- Medium: Etching – Tusche process
- Size: 425 x 400 (image) and 800 x 600 (paper)
- Paper: Hahnemuhle 300gsm
- Edition: 45
- Published: Brisbane, Queensland
- Studio: Under the House of Art Brisbane, QLD
- Printers: David Jones & Dennis Nona
Subject
The Bulla Roar was most likely introduced to the Torres Strait Islands by Cape York the Aboriginal people to the south.
The handle was swung in a circular motion to create a whirling wind like sound that undulated depending on the speed at which the Bulla Roar was rotated.
It was used by groups of men on the beaches to create windy conditions conducive for sailing. Large numbers of people creating a louder sound would guarantee stronger winds.
Most implements of this nature, drums and other items were richly decorated with carving like the patterned bands and shells seen in the handle of the Bulla Roar. It would have been made from Ubar or Wongai wood and highly polished by rubbing it with a piece of the same wood.
The artist has used a ‘Tusche’ etching process to give the Bulla Roar an aged appearance.
Dennis Nona Biography
Born in 1973 on Badu Island in the Torres Strait
Dennis Nona was taught the traditional craft of woodcarving when he was still a young boy. This skill has been developed and translated into the incredibly intricate and beautiful linocuts, etchings and sculptures created by the artist since the commencement of his art practice in 1989. Dennis Nona’s work is inspired by coastal life, family, traditional medicines and the myths and legends of the Torres Strait.
He has vividly documented the ancient myths and legends of his island and the wider Torres Strait that had previously been transmitted by oral story-telling and dance. Dennis Nona uses a highly graphic way of storytelling, and links the works with a matrix of delicately lined clan patterning, that binds the entire story to its place of origin.
Dennis holds a Degree in Visual Arts from Cairns TAFE and a Diploma in Visual Arts in Print Making from the Australian National University in Canberra. His art has been collected by a number of prestigious collections and art galleries worldwide, with the number now exceeding 46. He has exhibited his art on more that 160 occasions in some of the most prestigious galleries in the world.
Dennis has won the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Ward for Works on Paper on three occasions and was an outright winner for a sculpture. He has also won numerous other art awards for his prints.
Initially excelling in lino cuts, Dennis expanded into etchings which have become some of the finest examples of Australian First Nations art.
