LUCY CHEUNG

All from Harquus: North African Women’s Traditional Body Art Volume 2: Paint (pdf) by Catherine Cartwright-Jones.

“A person with thick, black eyebrows can see better in very bright light, and will be less likely to squint. Eyebrow paint may have had the same function as sunglasses, while accenting expressive eyebrow movement.”

I think I prefer the explanation from Catherine’s Introduction to Harquus Part 2: Kohl and Surma (pdf):

“Some women believed that blackening their eyelids and eyebrows would protect them from the glance of the Evil Eye, and also prevent them from transmitting the Evil Eye to another person.”

Postcard from a Tibetan art exhibition in Tokyo from Leo / Megaforce.

“There is no other way but to shake sin off one’s shoulders.  During the three days Qorbân holiday, all people regardless of their age or sex, ride on swings towards the heavens to purify themselves of sin.  Doydokh village, Jargalân.”

Guo Fengyi began practicing Qigong in early retirement which led to visions she was compelled to draw out. Current exhibition in London, the Museum of Everything (loads of outsider art, highly recommended go go go!) has three of her works which are awe-inspiringly big wall size massive drawings.

Incredible portraits of Maori women from the National Library of New Zealand.

A lot of mad looking pre-colombian ceramics in the auction archives here.

4843 Elephant detail, originally uploaded by ann porteus, Sidewalk Tribal Gallery.

“Elephant masks belong to members of the Kuosi society, a secret society of the Bamileke of Cameroon that maintains the political and social order of the kingdom. Membership of the Kuosi society includes royalty and wealthy title-holders, as well as men of warrior status. It is considered a great privilege to wear an elephant mask as it symbolizes force and strength. The Kuosi society performs ceremonies in the elephant masks and other regalia biannually and at the death of one of their members.”

Great collection of tribal art on this flickr!