Sid Bruce Short Joe

Flagship artist of the exhibition "Australia: Defending the Oceans / Ghostnet Sculptures" (from 5 April to 15 August 2017 at the Paris Aquarium), Sid Bruce Short Joe is an Aboriginal artist born in 1964 in the Aurukun mission, north of Pormpuraaw. Considered by his peers as a wise man, Sid is respected for his erudite knowledge of the sacred legends of the different people of the region, as well as for his unfailing knowledge of the local flora and fauna.

Sid is a great storyteller. When he talks about the legends passed down to him by his Ancestors, his eyes sparkle and we imagine him telling them at night around a fire to a mesmerised audience.

He owes his vast knowledge to the fact that he has lived in different places in Cape York. Thus, whilst it is usual among the Aboriginal people living in these regions to speak 4 to 6 languages, he speaks 9! This is one of the reasons why he assists the local magistrate as an interpreter and mediator. Respected by the Australian administration, he is also respected by the different clans of Queensland, who willingly invite him to their ceremonies. He is also the chairman of the management committee of the Pormpuraaw community, of which he is one of the most eminent artists.

His totem poles are the bull shark, the blue-tongued lizard and the spotted guitar ray or "Mundha" in the Kugu dialect, one of the nine languages spoken by Sid.