Ricardo Idagi spent much of his early life on Mer (Murray Island) and his work often manifests deep reverence for Meriam culture as well as communicating the irrevocable loss caused by colonisation of the Torres Strait. His ceramic portraits project his innermost fears and experience of unconscionable racism living in post-colonial Torres Strait and inner Melbourne. In working with clay, Idagi exorcises the constant taunts and resultant shame that have scarred his sense of self and resists his demonisation.
