Original artwork, acrylic on artist-made “box plaque” of timber and panel. Ready to hang or as a stand-alone piece. Dimensions 170mm x 170mm x 33mm deep. $175.
African primitive imagery with exotic fetish figures and masks strongly penetrated the Western aesthetic in the early 20th century, influencing many contemporary artists led by Pablo Picasso.
Tribal peoples used masks in rituals and ceremonies, representing the spirits of animals, ancestors or mythological entities.
The Baga tribe’s Simo society created a secretive mask called the Banda. Those who were not initiated into the society might be put to death for looking at it.
The mask combined crocodile and land-animal features signifying a spiritual link between water and earth.