The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? (ed Natalie King & Iwantja Arts, T&H)

To open The Art of Kaylene Whiskey: Do You Believe in Love? is to tumble into a kaleidoscopic world of colour, energy and cultural references. Edited by Natalie King and Iwantja Arts, this monograph coincides with the first major exhibition of Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey’s work at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and captures the unique vibrancy of her portrait and landscape works. Nobody paints popular culture quite like Whiskey, and the book’s sprawling, colour-saturated layout emphasises the vibrant singularity of her artistic approach. Inspired by her life in central Australia, her lively and joyous paintings celebrate Anangu culture alongside innovative self-portraits with her heroines Dolly Parton, Tina Turner and Cher. The book brings together works from private and public collections, a foreword by Aotearoa New Zealand actor and film director Taika Waititi, a poem by Wiradjuri poet Jazz Money and illuminating essays by King and fellow curators Clothilde Bullen and April Phillips, which explore different aspects of Whiskey’s artistic aesthetic, influences and life. Collectively, this fascinating volume succeeds in giving the reader a brilliant overview of Whiskey’s dynamic career, her body of work to date, and the people and places that have shaped her art. This beautifully produced monograph will appeal to admirers of Whiskey’s idiosyncratic works and those who appreciate exploring an artist’s oeuvre from diverse, but ultimately interlinked, perspectives. 

Books+Publishing reviewer: Heidi Maier has a PhD in women's studies and literature. She has been an arts and literary writer and reviewer for more than 20 years. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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