Aussie poet Omar Musa reconnects with Malaysian roots through woodcut art

A woodcut artwork from Omar's 'Killernova' book, celebrating his Malaysian and Australian roots. Photo: Omar Musa

Omar Musa’s new poetry and art book Killernova is a difficult one to pin down.

It’s part pandemic fever dream, it’s a reflection of family heritage in Borneo, and other parts, it’s autobiographical, and also a rustic woodcut art journey.

Killernova, released by publisher Penguin Books Australia, is the fourth book from Omar, an Australia-based author, poet, and rapper.

Omar’s Australian upbringing and Malaysian roots offer a diverse outlook in his poetry, art and storytelling, where culture, family, history, and identity intersect.

His early poetry book Parang (2013) explores the jungles of Malaysia and draws parallels with the suburban streets of Australia.

His debut novel, Here Come The Dogs (2013), written in prose and poetry, is based on his early years in the immigrant town of Queanbeyan, located in the south-eastern region of New South Wales.

Finding a voice

As the child of a Malaysian poet father and an Australian journalist mother, Omar’s quest to reconcile two different backgrounds slowly took shape through his poetry and art.

In his younger days, he would also often travel back to Malaysia for the holidays.

Omar’s new book 'Killernova' offers a soul-searching journey of poetry, woodcut art and storytelling.

Visits to his hometown Lahad Datu in Sabah were a formative experience, completely different to the cold streets and blocks of Queanbeyan.

During this time, the golden era of 1990s hip hop also influenced the young Omar.

“Biggie, Tupac Shakur, Wu Tang Clan, those guys sparked something within me. The whole anti-establishment ‘stick-it-up-to-the-big-man’ type rebellion was really intoxicating.” recalls Omar in a recent Zoom interview.

Hip hop music and culture was what eventually led Omar to study poetry further, and along the way, he also found history about the South-East Asian region as a means to discover his roots.

In the early days, he turned to works from Indonesian poet-dramatist WS Rendra and Malaysian academic-writer Farish A. Noor to understand more about the region.

Omar Musa, an artist-poet based in Australia, explores his Malaysian heritage in his new book 'Killernova', put together during the pandemic. Photo: Cole Bennetts

Eventually, Omar was performing in poetry slams across Australia cities, often railing against the injustices facing immigrant communities.

His strong on-stage performances earned him the Australian Poetry Slam title in 2008.

When the recent interview picks up on the challenges surrounding the multiracial experience in countries such as Australia and Malaysia, Omar pauses a moment to gather his thoughts.

“It’s hard for me to comment on Malaysian issues because I see myself as so Australian. Every time I can’t shake the feeling like I’m an observant tourist, a foreigner. So who am I to throw my two cents when I haven’t felt the problems from the ground,” says Omar.

“The way I interpret the world of Killernova is very much from my own Aussie mind, thankfully that is something my brothers in Sabah told me to embrace,” he adds.

Killernova took shape during a heavy period of depression, anxiety, and uncertainty for Omar, who was mentally exhausted and in need of an escape.

One of Omar’s woodcut illustrations in the book, displaying the beauty of Mount Kinabalu and Borneo’s wildlife and heritage. Photo: Cole Bennetts

In 2018, he made a trip to Sabah and by chance, stumbled upon the woodcut works from the Pangrok Sulap art collective, which has members based in Kota Kinabalu, Ranau and other parts of Sabah.

Woodcut art, community outreach and activism were the things he discovered from this art collective and others he encountered at the Tamparuli Living Arts Centre in Kota Kinabalu.

Omar was already aware about indigenous tribes in Sabah that have great mastery over wood carving.

Traditionally, the people of Suluk carved floral patterns and shorelines into the beams of longhouses.

Omar also recalls his grandmother’s community, the Kedayan, which used ironwood to carve their grave markers. The wood would change colour from bright yellow to deep black.

A place of light

For Omar, this last trip back to Sabah was an opportunity to pick up woodcut art, where carving of a different nature was still a required skill.

The poet-artist used cheap MDF (compressed mixed sawdust) to carve his vivid illustrations, which are featured in Killernova. The Clouded Leopard, Mount Kinabalu and cosmic imagery from Borneo are some of the visual themes in the book, which sit alongside poems and mini essays.

An endangered Clouded Leopard and Borneo's environmental crisis are some hard-hitting artworks and topics seen in the 'Killernova' book. Photo: Omar Musa

“It’s a weird juxtaposition. Here I was making art about the beauty of this mythical world and yet I’m using cheap materials that are a by-product of a corrupt logging company. In a way, it makes me somewhat complicit,” he says.

Nevertheless, Omar’s time learning under Sabahan artists such as Aerick LostControl and Yee I-Lann was instrumental to how the artwork in his new book took shape.

“When writing my poetry I always took it so seriously. Everything came from a place of darkness and anxiety. Eventually that took its toll and I realised I couldn’t stay there anymore. My kakak (Yee) I-Lann changed that myth that good art comes from a chaotic place. She would describe crafting sessions as ‘main-main’. I learned to make art out of a place of light and positivity,” says Omar.

This newfound zest of defying old myths became the primary theme of the Killernova book.

Most of the illustrations in Killernova were completed in Malaysia while the poetry and words came later during the lockdown period in Australia.

As a versatile artist, Omar picked up woodcut art during his last trip to Sabah in 2018, and his recent works are featured in 'Killernova'. Photo: Cole Bennetts

“It was a different process to reverse engineer the carvings and reflect on them with my words in Australia. I was just longing to return so badly, that became the fuel for the words I use in these poems,” says Omar.

The illustrations used in the book include beautiful landscapes, etched portraits or friends and family, and chaotic scenes of the inner psyche. Through it all, Omar applied three pillars of good art taught by Yee, which are “spontaneity, accuracy, and mystery”.

“I keep those three words hung on my wall as a mantra for my process now,” says Omar, who also stressed the importance of levity and good spirited humour in his poetry.

“I think the most important thing I’ve learned in making Killernova is the value of collaboration and the exchange of ideas. I’d gotten so used to working alone when it comes to my books. Without my team in Australia and my mentors in Malaysia, this project would have never existed.”

Omar is grateful and relieved that the public has responded well to his new book, especially his Sabahan mentors.

“Everyone that I’ve shared the book with has reacted well. I was especially nervous to see what the folks from Pangrok Sulap would have thought and thankfully, it looks like I haven’t let them down,” says Omar.

“People tell me ever since the release of this book that I’ve changed a lot. On the outside it may seem that way but to me I felt like a constant work in progress... It’s the same with my art, I may not know the answers yet, but it’s my duty to ask those questions,” he concludes.