The new Injinoo welcome sign, featuring artwork by Cairns Indigenous Art Fair artistic director and former resident Teho Ropeyarn, has been unveiled to greet visitors as they arrive in the Northern Peninsula Area community. Photo: Supplied.
He may now be the artistic director of one of most prestigious Indigenous art shows in Australia, but Teho Ropeyarn is also always more than happy to put his home on the international map.
Mr Ropeyarn designed the artwork that features on the new three-metre welcome sign to Injinoo, the first Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) community most travellers enter on their journey north of the Jardine River.
The Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council (NPARC) unveiled the eye-catching sign earlier this month, with Mr Ropeyarn’s mother, Jennifer, on hand to see her son’s stunning artwork come to life.
Mr Roperyarn is descended from the Angkamuthi and Yadhaykenu clans from Injinoo on the mainland, and Badu, Moa and Murray islands in the Torres Strait.
NPARC Mayor Robert Poi Poi said the culturally significant project had been two years in the making, and would provide visitors with a taste of Injinoo’s rich history.
“This sign is a welcome to Injinoo, representing traditional connections of the people to this land and sea Country,” he explained.
The sign was designed by former NPA Art Centre manager Dev Lengjel and, in addition to Mr Ropeyarn’s artwork, features traditional language Injinoo Ikaya, which has been curated by local linguists Sandra Woosup and Roy MacDonald.
