Some chaps go for women with long legs and ample bosoms, but I prefer mine to have technicolour moth wings and scrap metal fangs.
It was hardly surprising, then, that I was drawn to Myee the Moth-Woman like some sort of flying insect to a flame.
A highlight of Wodonga’s Crossing Place Trail, this babelicious bogong is forged from rusted metal and cuts a striking figure amongst the swaying gumtrees. The sanguine curves of the feminine form fuse seamlessly with the primeval mystique of the fluttering moth.
It is as though Myee has presided over this bushland for aeons.
She was created by local artisans Treahna Hamm and Michael Laubli. Treahna was inspired by an aboriginal dreamtime story about Myee, a precocious moth (which I’ve reproduced in stunning detail below).
“Being an artist, the best thing I can do is to share my story through the landscape,” Treahna told an intrigued scribe from The Border Mail. “In Yorta Yorta traditional times, our stories were not only painted, they were carved, danced and sung. The best way to teach our culture is outdoors where that connection to country happens.
“To me, if someone appreciates the sculptures in a subtle way or there’s something there that reminds them about their own stories or experiences, it’s a good thing.”
Oh, we appreciate your work, Treahna!
Myee might look big in these photos, but she’s even BIGGER in real life. In fact, she’s exactly 12 million times the weight of a real bogong – but that’s just simple moth-amatics.
The Legend of Myee the Moth-Woman
Our story begins many moons ago, when men were moths and women were also, apparently, moths. Myee, a buxom bogong spirit with wings like stained glass windows, lived happily beside the mighty Murray River with her boring, colourless husband Colin.
At dusk she would turn her compound eyes towards the setting sun, dreaming of visiting the snowcapped mountains in the distance.
“Why would a gorgeous half-woman-half-moth mutant like you want to go up there? It’s cold!” Colin would say, his antennae wiggling erratically.
But Myee – poor, sweet Myee – couldn’t resist the lure of the wintery peaks. One afternoon, while Colin was at T-ball practise, she gave in to her carnal desires and flew into the highlands.
Well she wasn’t going to drive, was she? It was 35,000BC!
The views up there were spectacular and Myee was grateful for a bit of ‘me time’ – or should that be Myee time? – but that’s when disaster struck. A ferocious snow storm rolled in. When it finally passed, Myee realised it had stripped the bodacious hues from her wings.
It had also ruined her perm, which was the real tragedy.
Myee was, understandably, reluctant to tell the worriesome Colin what had happened. He was prone to overreaction and had probably already filed a moth-ing person report. But, surprisingly, he accepted Myee’s new, frumpier look without hesitation.
Their proboscis entwined, proving love truly is blind. Hey, that rhymed!
I Just Called To Say I Moth You
I was so inspired by this tale of passion and acceptance that I asked Bigella to join me on my playdate with Myee.
“I’d love to, Bigs,” she purred wistfully, eyeing off my freshly-pressed tunic. “But all I have to wear is this old moth-bitten sweater. Is that alright?”
“Err, that might be a little, uh, homely for Land of the Bigs,” I replied delicately. “Do you mind staying in the car?”
“But I thought you’d been touched by Myee and Colin’s tale of unconditional love?!”
“Sorry, toots,” I shot back, swaggering off into the Victorian bush. “That was just an urban moth!”
