{"id":180994,"date":"2025-11-14T21:32:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/180994\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T21:32:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:32:13","slug":"dolly-parton-heads-to-australian-desert-in-unique-exhibit-celebrating-rising-art-star-kaylene-whiskey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/180994\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolly Parton heads to Australian desert in unique exhibit celebrating rising art star Kaylene Whiskey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dolly Parton has never stepped foot on the dry red dirt of Indulkana in remote South Australia.<\/p>\n

In fact, the singer likely does not know the Aboriginal community, about 400 kilometres south of Alice Springs, even exists.<\/p>\n

But in the art of Kaylene Whisky, Parton is a frequent visitor and the painter’s muse.<\/p>\n

\"Dolly<\/p>\n

Dolly visits Indulkana (2020) by Kaylene Whiskey. (Supplied: National Portrait Gallery)<\/p>\n

So too is Cher, Whoopi Goldberg, Tina Tuner and superheroes like Wonder Woman and Supergirl.<\/p>\n

With playfulness and humour, the acclaimed contemporary First Nations artist weaves together pop culture with traditional A\u1e49angu culture.<\/p>\n

Her art celebrates sisterhood and strong women.<\/p>\n

\"Flying<\/p>\n

Flying over Indulkana (2022) by Kaylene Whiskey. (Supplied: National Portrait Gallery)<\/p>\n

A major survey of her work, called Super Kaylene Whiskey, opens this weekend at the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in Canberra.<\/p>\n

“Kaylene Whiskey, there’s no one else like her in the universe,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

exhibition curator April Phillips said.<\/p>\n

The collection includes more than 80 artworks from across a decade of practice, sourced from private and institutional collections around Australia.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Bree Pickering says Whiskey’s group portraits present each person as powerful equals on the canvas. (ABC News: Adam Shirley)<\/p>\n

NPG director Bree Pickering said Whiskey’s work inspired collective joy and connection.<\/p>\n

“Dolly Parton, Cher and Wonder Woman \u2026 are presented as powerful equals, among other strong women from her community of Indulkana, including Kaylene herself,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

she said.<\/p>\n

“What is important and absolutely remarkable about the group portraits that Kaylene paints is there is no compositional hierarchy.<\/p>\n

“No one figure is more important than any other.”<\/p>\n

\"Artist<\/p>\n

Kaylene Whiskey was commissioned to create the paintings of Cathy Freeman for the exhibition. (ABC News: Adam Shirley)<\/p>\n

A specially commissioned three-panelled painting depicting Cathy Freeman at the 2000 Sydney Olympics will be on display for the first time.<\/p>\n

“Kaylene’s extraordinary work shows us Cathy in a new light,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ms Pickering said.<\/p>\n

“Not weighed down by the expectations of a nation but powered by the energy, love and spirit of her sisters in Indulkana and beyond.”<\/p>\n

\"Artist<\/p>\n

Kaylene Whiskey says she hopes the exhibition makes people laugh and smile. (ABC News: Adam Shirley)<\/p>\n

Whiskey’s star is continuing to rise in the art world.<\/p>\n

She is a three-time Archibald finalist and the winner of the 2018 Sulman Prize.<\/p>\n

The exhibition will remain on display at the gallery until March 9 next year, and Whiskey hopes it makes people laugh and smile.<\/p>\n

\"Seven<\/p>\n

Seven Sistas Story (2021) by Kaylene Whiskey. (Supplied: National Portrait Gallery)<\/p>\n

“It will be like a big party celebrating kungka ku\u1e49pu (strong women), friends, family, culture, and of course Dolly Parton,” she said.<\/p>\n

Ms Phillips said she could not wait to see what was next for Whiskey’s career.<\/p>\n

“It’s just the beginning,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dolly Parton has never stepped foot on the dry red dirt of Indulkana in remote South Australia. In…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[76063,365,362,363,364,102289,27912,366,67586,18,117,19,17,102290,102288,34676,102291,7383,50521],"class_list":{"0":"post-180994","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-aangu-pitjantjatjara-yankunytjatjara","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-artsdesign","13":"tag-cathy-freeman","14":"tag-cher","15":"tag-design","16":"tag-dolly-parton","17":"tag-eire","18":"tag-entertainment","19":"tag-ie","20":"tag-ireland","21":"tag-iwantja","22":"tag-kaylene-whiskey","23":"tag-national-portrait-gallery","24":"tag-super-kaylene-whiskey","25":"tag-tina-turner","26":"tag-wonder-woman"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115550194875823418","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}