![Jodie Munday with one of her works, a Kookaburra, that will be featured in her 'Fight or Flight' exhibition opening at Crookwell's Top Pub on November 9. Picture supplied. Jodie Munday with one of her works, a Kookaburra, that will be featured in her 'Fight or Flight' exhibition opening at Crookwell's Top Pub on November 9. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Xn3KP2xbyFBWgTmsCMnW6P/b3cd2eeb-2350-4b5c-94ff-4e1dd80b9929.jpg/r0_23_1080_868_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Goulburn region artist and Wiradjuri woman Jodie Munday is exploring humans' relationships with ecosystems through a series of art workshops and exhibition in Crookwell.
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'Fight or Flight' seeks to question the viewers' perception of native wildlife by tackling issues of irreversible damage to the environment caused by human activity.
Jodie is urging the viewer to examine how their actions can affect the landscape and to rethink their relationship to it.
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"From an artist point of view, it is a lot easier to speak to people by showing the beauty of what we have. I hope through hands-on workshops and visual exhibitions that I will open the eyes, hearts and minds of people," Ms Munday said.
"I am so passionate about our country, our flora and fauna, our waterways and raising awareness of the many wonderful natural species, whether it be plants or animals, and the habitats and ecosystems they live within."
She was a finalist in the 2022 Goulburn Art Award for her illustration of two Galahs, the artwork titled 'Fight or Flight' captures the birds in a tree without a nesting hollow that is critical for the species survival.
The show includes drawings, paintings, weavings and mixed media works and artworks exploring the habitats of the Spotted Quoll and Eastern Water Dragon.
Each of the animals live in the Kanangra-Boyd to Wyangala wildlife corridor. An area that links around 319,000 hectares of land across the Southern Tablelands. Parts of it are expected to be impacted by major infrastructure projects planned for the region, including Humelink and the raising of the dam walls at Warragamba and Wyangala.
"We are facing a crisis at the moment, as far as habitat destruction and native vegetation destruction which is leading to endangered species of iconic animals that are not anywhere else in the world," Jodie said.
![The award-winning fight or flight artwork by Jodie Munday. The award-winning fight or flight artwork by Jodie Munday.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/Xn3KP2xbyFBWgTmsCMnW6P/4b1d30b7-9bb9-4bfb-9f44-036cdc456308.JPG/r0_0_1170_1430_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
She said the dam raising could flood out multiple species of fauna, while places of cultural significance and European settler heritage also to be lost under the water.
"The exhibition is about these animals in the corridor, facing extinction due to habitat loss and flooding," Ms Munday said.
She said she is equally inspired by her 10-year-old son, Samuel, who is naturally curious and connected to the natural world.
He is fascinated by dinosaurs, she said and brings up the subject of extinction, trying to understand how science helps us to discover facts about the environment and its history.
"He asked, 'what if when I grow up we only know what a platypus or a koala looks like from a book?'," Ms Munday said.
"It's a question that a lot of kids would ask, but not so many adults," she said.
K2W Inc and the Great Eastern Ranges is supporting the project with funding from the Australian and NSW Government's Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund and the Southern Tablelands Arts and Country Arts Support Program.
Ms Munday will host a free hands-on art workshop for kids and adults at the Crookwell Top Pub on November 12.
Jodie will use her cultural knowledge of the native plants, animals, habitats and ecosystems to connect the participants to the wonderful Southern Tablelands region and the native flora and fauna.
A free kid's workshop will be held from 10am to 12pm, and for adults from 1pm to 3pm. Limited to 10 people each with more dates to be announced.
The 'Fight or Flight' exhibition will be thought-provoking and opens at the Top Pub on December 9 from 6.30pm.