‘Mayhmayh : Different Birds’ features 13 different birds along with their eating habits, behaviour, and environment. Their location is Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Many of the anecdotes about the birds are quirky and fascinating. Included are such characteristics as their time to go hunting or the character of the birds as they chatter among their favourite blossoms, search for their favourite foods, or chase each other across the landscape.
‘Mayh’ is the Kunwinjku generic word for birds and ‘mayhmayh’ is the plural. ‘Mayhmayh : Different Birds’ features Graham Badari’a original paintings of birds, their environment, and seasons of West Arnhem Land. These artworks were painted with ochre and acrylic on Archies watercolour paper and were originally part of an exhibition held at Nomad Art, Euroa (Victoria) in July 2017. The text by Graham Badari and Felicity Wright describes each bird’s habits and behaviours.
The elongated rectangular page features each bird’s appearance set amongst the landscape featuring the details of trees, leaves and flowers. Each bird is identified by its Kunwinjku name, along with their food preferences, their calls, and often distinguishing characteristics between male and female. Details include their colour, what they eat, where they live, and their various activities such as hunting and chasing lizards and grasshoppers.
The back of the book offers additional information including a profile of Graham Badari, the artist, the six Kunwinjku Seasons of the Northern Territory West Arnhem Land, the 14 birds featured in the artwork and information about Injalak Arts incorporated in 1989 as an art centre promoting Kunwinjku art. The Centre is located 300km east of Darwin.
Graham Badari, the artist, belongs to the Wardjak Clan. His patrilineal clan estate is Maburrinji, 120 kilometres east of Gunbalanya. He learned the figurative style characteristic of Kunwinjku painting at Injalak Arts. The guiding principle of Injalak Arts is ‘sharing and teaching our culture.’ Badari’s Wikipedia entry states that he is a fan of heavy metal music and enjoys western science-fiction and fantasy imagery often appearing on his t-shirts. Badari is also a fan of Japanese anime. His art has won multiple awards.
Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander Resource
