November 1-4, 2018

MISSION BADU 2018 – PACIFIC

  • Australia, Badu, Biodiversity, Prince Albert II

A meeting of two worlds

As part of Explorations de Monaco, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco met the Badulgal people on the island of Badu, in the Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Badulgal people are a community that lives with the Ocean, lives from the Ocean and cares about the Ocean and the pressures that threaten this symbiosis.

The course of the mission

The first Head of State to visit the island, H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, accompanied by Robert Calcagno, Director General of the Oceanographic Institute, spent a few days immersed with the Badulgal people, gaining an insight into the foundations of a culture based on a perception of the world very different from our own.

Meeting with the Elders, © A.Fuchs_Explorations de Monaco
Discussion between Alick Tipoti and H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince -© A.Fuchs. Explorations of Monaco.

A long friendship

The Sovereign Prince’s visit was in response to an invitation from Alick Tipoti, a committed Badulgal artist who, in 2016, during the Taba Naba exhibition, created an exceptional 600m2 workfor the roof of Monaco’s Oceanographic Museum and exhibited a life-size bronze Dugong.

Alick Tipoti: an internationally renowned artist

Through his art, exhibited in the world’s greatest museums, Alick Tipoti recounts how oral culture, music, dance and the visual arts intertwine to provide us with fundamental knowledge of the marine environment, essential to the survival of peoples.

Girelal, reputed to be the world’s largest linocut, is presented as part of the Badu Island exhibition.
The subject of the work is the cultural link between the natives and their spiritual ancestors, the Muruygal.
It is composed of traditional Melanesian Zenadh-Kes drawings.

Linocut Girelal, Alick Tipoti © M. Dagnino.
Oceanographic Institute

Zugub

Alick Tipoti goes by the traditional name of Zugub, which allows him to refer to the spirits of his ancestors, the Zugubal.
“When I work late at night carving traditional designs, I can feel the presence of the spirits, whom I recognize and verbally thank for their help in visualizing the words they have given me.”

Photo Alick in traditional dance costume (Michel Dagnino).
H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco listens to the welcome speech. Badu island. © A. Fuchs. Explorations of Monaco

Another vision of the Ocean

The Badulgal community’s interdependence with its environment (nature sustains them and they strive to nurture it in return), their way of exploiting resources, and their knowledge and practice of the marine world are sources of inspiration for our modern, Western societies, as well as for the message delivered by H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince to promote sustainable management and protection of the Ocean.

The islands of the Torres Strait

Located 14,000 km from the Principality of Monaco, at the junction of the Coral Sea and the Arafura Sea between Australia and Papua New Guinea, Badu Island is one of the Torres Strait Islands, with an estimated population of seven thousand spread over fourteen islands.
The main indigenous population of Australia, their history differs from that of the Aborigines in particular through their strong ethnic and cultural links with neighboring Melanesian peoples.
Known as the “People of the Sea”, their daily lives are governed by a strong interaction with the marine world.
The marine diversity that surrounds them, including animals such as dugongs, sea turtles and sharks, governs their traditions and know-how and conditions their survival.

Badu, aerial view © A. Fuchs.
Explorations in Monaco

Locating Badu and the Torres Strait

Opening of the Badu exhibition in the Salle de Conférences of Monaco's Oceanographic Museum. M. Dagnino. Oceanographic Institute

A photographic exhibition

Twenty-four panels illustrate the exchanges between H.S.H. Prince Albert II and the families of Badu Island.
Photographs and two magnificent linocuts by Alick Tipoti highlight the age-old culture of this people of the sea, confronted daily with the evolution of a rapidly changing world, and testify to the artist’s sensitivity and profound osmosis with the forces of Nature and the Ocean.

Alick & Albert: a documentary film

Although they live in two seemingly opposing societies, the artist and the head of state share a common vision and join forces in the service of the Ocean.
This cross-portrait was the subject of a documentary directed by Trish Lake.
Its title: Alick & Albert. 

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco is surrounded by Nicolas Laurent (left), Ariel Fuchs and Robert Calcagno (cap), at the foot of a huge silver termite mound. Sylvain Péroumal. Explorations de Monaco.

The participants

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco,

Mr. Nicolas Laurent (mission manager),

Colonel Bruno Philipponnat (chargé de mission to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco),

Mr. Robert Calcagno, Director General of the Oceanographic Institute, Albert1st Prince of Monaco Foundation,

Mr. Ariel Fuchs (writer),

Mr. Sylvain Péroumal (videographer Terre M’air Production).

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