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Dry Season

“This painting is about the dry, when spinifex, the native plants and the Country gets dry. When the rain comes it makes the Country green again. Some animals love dry season for hunting. Sometimes we go hunting for animals for our families.”
 – Edward Badal

This artwork reflects the changing seasons across Country, showing how life shifts with the dry and wet. In Bidyadanga and the surrounding desert and coastal lands, the rhythm of the year guides movement, gathering, hunting, and time spent with family on Country.

As the dry season arrives, the land opens up again — red dunes, salt flats, and long beaches shining in the heat. Winds change, tides get bigger, and rangers burn Country to look after it, clearing grass, making space for new growth, and keeping the land healthy. Bush turkeys, goannas, fish, stingray, turtle, and shellfish are hunted, and families camp, share stories, and travel between desert and coast.

When the wet season return, big clouds roll in, storms build over the sea, and lightning cracks across the land. Country comes alive — water fills the waterholes and claypans, flowers and grasses grow, and birds, bush foods, and animals become abundant.

Through colour, pattern, and rhythm, the artist captures the cycle of seasons and the knowledge passed down — knowing when to gather certain foods, when animals are fat, when storms are coming, and how to care for Country through fire and everyday living. The work celebrates the constant relationship between people, weather, land, and sea, honouring the strength and continuity of cultural life.

Categories: Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community LaGrange Inc

Name: Edward Badal

Language: Nyangamarta

Community: Bidyadanga

Biography:

“I was born in Broome hospital, WA in the late seventies. I went to Lagrange school, then to Nulungu College to further my education and went back to Lagrange. In the late 2000's I came interested in painting my old peoples’ Country. Me, I like doing dot painting. It's about culture, land and people. Sometimes I go out with the rangers to look after Country and sometimes it heals all of us being out on Country. The painting I do is sand dunes and claypans. Me, I use desert colours in my paintings, that represent the desert. My Mother and my Grandmother are Nyangumarta and my Father’s side is Mangala Side. Both of my Grandmothers were born in the desert Country, they both grew me up in the old camp here in Bidyadanga.”
– Edward Badal

Edward’s work has been recognised across regional Western Australia. He won Best Overall Artwork in the Shinju Art Awards two years in a row, participated in Radius 6.0 at the Courthouse Gallery+Studio in Port Hedland, and exhibited alongside Bibianna Tumbler in a two-person show at Redbill Studio+Gallery in Broome in 2025.

Alongside his art practice, Edward works as a Nyangumarta Ranger, caring for Country through traditional knowledge and land management. His time on Country informs his paintings — observing fire, water, animal tracks, claypans and spinifex — and strengthens the deep cultural connection that underpins his work.

Beyond his paintings, Edward advocates for mental health and plays an important mentoring role at the Art Centre, often encouraging younger people and family members to paint. His presence and passion for culture continue to inspire others in the community to share their own stories through painting

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