Eric Bridgeman (Yuriyal) (PG/AU)
Image: Eric Bridgeman (Yuriyal) and Haus Yuriyal, Moskitos, 2010. Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane.
Born 1986, Redcliffe, Australia
Lives and works Brisbane, Australia & Eastern and Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea
Eric Bridgeman is a multidisciplinary artist. The dominant focus of his work involves the discussion of social and cultural issues. Recently he has been exploring issues of masculinity. Belonging to the Yuri tribe of South Simbu, Papua New Guinea, Yuriyal (meaning: Man of Yuri), produces portraits collaboratively with his fellow tribesmen and those closest to him, in traditional and domestic settings, to form personal tributes through intimate and meaningful exchanges within men’s spaces, the artist’s studio, the rugby field and the ‘hausman’, a tradition Papua New Guinean men’s house.