The owl acted as messenger for the Tiwi lovers Wai-ai and Taparra, guiding them to one another through the bush. It was following this act of infidelity that death came to the world and the Tiwi people.

Janice Murray is reknowned for her depictions of the vast array of birdlife that inhabit the Tiwi Islands.

This original limited edition print was made as a result of Janice being awarded the 2017 APW Collie Print Trust Fellowship. Janice was artist in residence in May 2017 and worked in collaboration with Senior Printers Martin King and Simon White at the Australian Print Workshop based in Melbourne, to produce a major body of works. The end product was exhibited in a solo exhibition at the APW from July – September 2017 titled Tokapuwi (Big Mob of Birds).