The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love?

‘Kaylene Whiskey is an artistic Swiss Army knife in the world of multimedia.’ – Taika Waititi

‘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

‘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 pop culture icons – including Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Catwoman, Cher and Wonder Woman – all connected to the Kungkarangkalpa Tjukurpa, or Seven Sisters Story. These heroines, however, are shown partying at Iwantja Art Centre in Indulkana, South Australia.

Her comic-book style and text bubbles are hilarious yet potent symbols of female power in an Aboriginal setting. A joyful visual anthem, Whiskey’s work draws from the country music, rock’n’roll and Anangu songs played in her household growing up. An in-depth interview with the artist punctuates the richly illustrated pages in which Whiskey describes her creative process – blending Anangu traditions with contemporary culture by painting jugs of Coca-Cola alongside mingkulpa (native bush tobacco), lollipops, honey ants and love hearts.

Edited by the renowned curator Natalie King and the team at Iwantja Arts, The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? is the first major monograph on the artist. Colourfully designed throughout and featuring a dynamic lenticular cover, the volume also includes contributions from notable creatives Taika Waititi, Jazz Money, Zoé Whitley, Clothilde Bullen and April Phillips.