Beizam Dance Mask

$4,750.00

Out of stock

SKU: KT051 Categories: , ,

Description

Dance is perhaps the most important vehicle for the expression of Torres Strait Islander culture, identity and tradition.

From a young age Ken witnessed the songs and dances of the Loza Dancing Group which was founded by his father Tat Thaiday, a renowned dancer and choreographer. Ken joined the group before moving to Cairns where he then formed another dance group of the same name. He now performs with a family dance troupe called the Erub Kebile Dancers.

Masks and headdresses are integral to Torres Strait Islander dance performances.

Ken Thaiday has become renowned for his contemporary Beizam or Shark dance masks. His ingenious use of lightweight materials such as plastic piping, plywood, twine and bright enamel paint, skillfully incorporating these in to the design and mechanisms for moving parts that operate in tune with dance choreography, music and song that mimic the opening and closing of the shark’s jaws as it sways from side to side with the plume of white or red feathers mimicking the foaming and blood soaked water of its feeding frenzy.

Thaiday’s Beizam dance masks can be seen in the collections of Australian national and state galleries and in several major international institutions

 

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Additional information

Artist

Ken Thaiday

Medium

Plywood, feathers, metal rods, hinges, PVC, beads, nylon line, foam, acrylic paint

Region

Torres Strait Islands

Size

Studio

Artist's Studio Cairns Qld.

Types

Sculpture

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