‘Swagman up close’

This is one of a series of paintings based on the popular ballad Waltzing Matilda, written near Winton western Queensland, the place where Graham spent his formative childhood years.

It is more than a ballad, more of an allegory expressing a sense of injustice, of resistance against injustice and a tool to summon up courage to oppose seemingly insurmountable odds.

Graham painted this mostly with his bare hands, making a connection with the earth and the emotive feeling behind the ballad.