“celluloid stars . . . of her rich imagination.”
“Kaylene Whiskey is an artistic Swiss Army knife in the world of multimedia. Think of her work as an art party where the guest list includes humour, music, dancing, and maybe Dolly or Tina,” proclaimed New Zealand film director Taika Waititi – a man with a range from Thor: Ragnarok, 2017 to Hunt for the Wilderpeople, 2016.
And he’s introducing the solo show for Yankunytjatjara artist (and filmmaker) Kaylene Whiskey (b.1976), which marks her first major survey exhibition in a public institution.
Known for her colourful imagery, Whiskey is a three-time Archibald Prize finalist and the Iwantja Art Centre at remote Indulkana also houses Vincent Namatjira, an Archibald Prize winner. And both have clearly experienced as many comics and cartoon films along their cultural way as Dreamtime stories.
Flying Over Indulkana, 2022, synthetic polymer paint on digital print on rag paper, 91 × 156cm
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Collection
© Kaylene Whiskey
Courtesy the artist and National Portrait Gallery, Australian Capital Territory
“I like to say that I’m painting ‘from the comic to canvas’ because I’m always painting the comic book characters from when I was a young girl, like Wonder Woman,” declares Whiskey in the monograph from Thames & Hudson that accompanies the show, The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love?
She’s also famous for featuring Dolly Parton, Whoopi Goldberg, Cher and Nina Simone as sistas in her updating of the ancient Seven Sisters songline that travels to her Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands from the distant Pilbara. Whiskey’s Seven Sistas Story, 2021 – a triptych over four metres in length – appears in the exhibition, while also on show is her epic interactive installation Kaylene TV and a newly commissioned portrait.
Whiskey’s celluloid stars are not up in the sky as the Pleiades; though they’re equally mythical courtesy of her rich imagination.
As curator and essayist Natalie King explains: “Her repertoire is one of gentle resistance in the face of some of the harsh realities of living in a remote community. Whiskey chooses to seek strength in her community and making art. Whiskey also deploys playful humour to combat these challenges by promoting moderation and invoking ‘Dolly Pardon’ as a clever word play on forgiveness and acceptance.”
Aṉangu Barbie Girl, 2024, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 122 × 152cm
Private collection
© Kaylene Whiskey
Courtesy the artist and National Portrait Gallery, Australian Capital Territory
Despite their cartoon quality, “Whiskey’s superwomen warriors herald Indigenous sovereignty with matrilineal solidarity,” insists King. And the artist herself adds: “I want my work to show a strong, positive message about life in a remote Indigenous community. We’re proud to live on our land and hold on to our culture and our language.”
Traditional Aṉangu activities like cultivating mingkulpa are also important to the artist: “I have mingkulpa growing in my garden; it’s so lovely with the white flowers. I like to chew it when I make my paintings, it makes me feel very relaxed.” Vines of this native tobacco plant also festoon her work.
On her background and influences, Whiskey said: “I’m from the generation that grew up with Coca-Cola and TV, as well as Tjukurpa [ancestral stories] and bush tucker, so I like to have a bit of fun with combining those two different worlds.”
Dolly Flying To Iwantja, 2022, synthetic polymer paint on linen, 152 × 122cm
Private collection
© Kaylene Whiskey
Courtesy the artist and National Portrait Gallery, Australian Capital Territory
Away from the fun, Whiskey clearly has an eye for her subjects that peers beneath the surface. For the show features portraits of Dolly, Nina and herself that wouldn’t be out of place in the Archibald. She also distinguishes, smartly, between her two artforms. “Paintings tell a whole story in one canvas and the people looking at them are thinking about the story in their own way,” Whiskey said. “With films I’m making a bigger moving story with lots of funny characters, beautiful Country, and some props too.” And she’s in control.
Fascinatingly, essayist Clothilde Bullen notes that “Kaylene often inserts herself into her work as Whoopi Goldberg’s nun character, a symbol of divine agape or unconditional love for humanity, and it is through this love that sisterhood flourishes.”
Jeremy Eccles is a specialist arts commentator with a long-term engagement with First Nations culture.
National Portrait Gallery
15 November 2025 to 9 March 2026
Australian Capital Territory
Originally published in print – Art Almanac, November 2025 issue, pp. 23–25
