The work of Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey will be spotlighted at the National Portrait Gallery's major summer exhibition, running from November 15 to 9 March next year.
'Super Kaylene Whiskey' brings together Whiskey's joyous portraits of pop culture icons amid everyday life in Indulkana.
Whiskey's celebrated paintings foreground her traditional Aṉangu culture alongside depictions of her heroes – Cher, Wonder Woman, Tina Turner and notably, Dolly Parton. It's a world where local plants and Coca Cola comingle, where Whiskey and her idols hunt and collect bush tucker, and every scene is composed to soundtracks of classic rock, pop and country music.
Radiating with elation and irreverent humour yet also candid about the realities of personal experience, Whiskey's representations of First Nations culture are empowering, captivating and enduring.
"I'm so happy that my exhibition Super Kaylene Whiskey is opening at the National Portrait Gallery in November. You can see all my artworks come together for one big special show – it will be like a big party celebrating kungka kuṉpu (strong women), friends, family, culture, and of course Dolly Parton," Whiskey said.
"I want to share a peek into Kaylene's world with visitors to the exhibition, and I hope it will make you laugh and smile … and maybe even dance and sing too! Come and have a look. Kaylene loves you!"
Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Bree Pickering, said Whiskey is among the most exciting contemporary artists working in Australia today.
"Kaylene Whiskey is among the most exciting contemporary artists working in Australia today. Every detail in her portraits signals what matters to her, her passions, interests and strong sense of self, and are always delivered with humour and lightness," she said.
"It is a pleasure to announce this, Kaylene Whiskey's first solo exhibition in a public institution – and to bring her uplifting and iconic portraits together in an exhibition that celebrates her distinctive and exuberant view of the world."
Flying over Indulkana, 2022 Kaylene Whiskey © Kaylene Whiskey. AIATSIS Collection. (Image: supplied)
Exhibition curator April Phillips said Whiskey's work typifies the potential of First Nations portraiture to explore identity from the perspective of lived experience.
"Kaylene's portraits represent her, often on Country, and within the contexts of her culture, placed in unfolding moments across time," she said.
"Then, she takes her locality a step further, to include the glittering world of celebrity, universal brands and a sprinkling of emoji-like symbolism for good measure. Kaylene is dancing in many worlds and invites us to join her."
Whiskey is a Yankunytjatjara woman working out of Iwantja Arts, an Indigenous owned and governed Aboriginal art centre in the Indulkana Community of the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the remote north-west of South Australia.
A three-time Archibald Prize finalist and winner of the 2018 Sulman Prize, Whiskey's collaborations with knitwear label Wah-Wah and Mecca and the National Gallery of Victoria have seen her fast become a household name in Australia. Her now famous 2020 work, Dolly visits Indulkana, was projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House for Badu Gili: Wonder Women, in collaboration with the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 2021.
Super Kaylene Whiskey will include a new commission made specifically for the exhibition, the epic interactive installation Kaylene TV, commissioned for the 2024 Biennale of Sydney, and her renowned 2021 painting Seven Sistas Story, a triumphant triptych over four metres in length.
Super Kaylene Whiskey will be accompanied by a program of special events and will coincide with the 5th National Indigenous Art Triennial: After the Rain, at the National Gallery of Australia.
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