Art of Kaylene Whiskey

Art of Kaylene Whiskey
'I was very excited that Kaylene honoured me through her art and I was glad that I could be an inspiration to her' Dolly Parton

'Kaylene Whiskey is an artistic Swiss Army knife in the world of multimedia' Taika Waititi

'It's one of my dreams for Dolly to come and visit me in Indulkana. I love to listen to her music while I paint: '9 to 5', 'Coat of many colours', 'Jolene' and my number one, 'Islands in the stream' with Kenny Rogers. I often think if Dolly came to visit, what would she do? What would she say? And what would she be wearing?' Kaylene Whiskey

Kaylene Whiskey's paintings dazzle with brightly coloured pop stars rendered in dots and set amongst her own community in remote Central Australia. She depicts female characters from popular culture including Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Catwoman, Cher and Wonderwoman, all connected to the Kungkarangkalpa Tjukurpa, or Seven Sisters story – except these female heroines are partying at Iwantja Arts Centre in Indulkana, South Australia.

Her comic-book style and text bubbles are hilarious yet potent symbols of female power in an Aboriginal setting: an anthem to contemporary connection to Country and popular culture. Her works are held in the collections of museums across Australia and internationally. Kaylene is based at Iwantja Arts, also home to Vincent Namatjira, Betty Muffler and Kunmanara (Tiger) Yaltangki.