Segar Passi

Meriam Mir Dauareb people. Born 1942, Dauar Island, Torres Strait, Australia
Lives and works Mer (Murray Island), Torres Strait, Australia

Museum of Contemporary Art

Stima Kor Kor, 2012
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Commissioned by Cairns Regional Gallery, 2012

Totobem ide sis temarki, 2012
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Commissioned by Cairns Regional Gallery, 2012

Collection: Cairns Regional Gallery

Lidlid, 2011
synthetic polymer paint on paper
Purchased 2011 with funds from Anne Best through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation

Irmerira baz, 2011
synthetic polymer paint on paper
Purchased 2011 with funds from Anne Best through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation

Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Presentation at the 24th Biennale of Sydney was made possible with generous support from a grant from Open Society Foundations

Across four paintings, the clear skies of the Torres Strait are turned atomic orange as the sun sets. Created by Meriam Elder and Dauareb artist Segar Passi, an expert on weather patterns, astronomy, the land and the sky of the Torres Strait, each painting holds a lifetime of knowledge.

As educational as they are beautiful, the works are a medium through which information is captured and passed between generations. Painted en plein air (outside) the works accurately depict the clouds, tides and colours of specific seasons and cycles. Based on Passi’s own years of observation and centuries of collective cultural knowledge, the paintings represent a scientific record of the islands.

Here, the orange skies and heavy clouds do not signify an explosion. Rather, they herald winds from the east and rain arriving early.

Segar Passi is a self-taught Meriam Elder and artist who was born in 1942 on Dauar, one of the three islands that make up Mer (Murray) Island in the Torres Strait. Passi has been painting since his early childhood, using charcoal, crushed stones, saltwater, pandanus fruit, and clam shells as his materials. He paints his ancestral stories, weather systems, Indigenous astrology, marine and bird species, portraits of his people, and scenes of daily life on the island. Passi is also a Cultural Custodian and educator who shares his knowledge with the younger generations on Mer. 

Read more about the 24th Biennale of Sydney, Ten Thousand Suns, by purchasing the catalogue here.