Exhibitions: John Wolseley | Kaylene Whiskey

• Opening reception: Friday, 27 January from 6-8pm⁠

• Exhibition dates: 28 January – 25 February 2023

Regenesis - Slow Water - Deep Earth.

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery is delighted to present Regenesis - Slow Water - Deep Earth, an exhibition of new works by John Wolseley.

In his first exhibition with Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in four years, John Wolseley returns to the city with an exciting presentation of new multi-panelled works the artist calls ‘landscape polyptychs.’ This is a new way of working for Wolseley who has taken inspiration from Japanese Ukiyo-e printmakers.

‘I am ridiculously excited by this way of doing things’, says Wolseley. ‘It enables me to include one or two modes or graphic systems in each panel. There is the birds-eye mappy kind of drawings, or my more traditional fixed point perspective systems. Or my more aleatoric charcoal rubbings from burnt trees. These different modes all brought together in a single work are for me a wonderful way of describing a complex ecosystem. I see each landscape I paint as being a vast single organism - composed of interwoven webs and skeins of marvellous intricacy.’

Since 2019, Wolseley has been documenting the creeks, rivers, and wetlands of Southern Australia in a quest to reveal how water, trees, soil, and the ancient webs of mycorrhizal fungi all combine in the making of country. This all started in 2019 when he took part in the Earth Canvas project in which six artists were paired with six brilliant regenerative farmers to document and celebrate their land. The exhibition toured regional galleries including the National Museum last year. Works from this project are part of this show together with more recent investigations of the same Riverina property, Bibbaringa.

From Comic to Canvas

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery is thrilled to present From Comic to Canvas, an exhibition of new works by Kaylene Whiskey.

In Cher’s hit song Believe (1998), her anthem to life after love and survival, she chants ‘Do you believe in life after love?’ followed by a refrain about the power of independence. Similarly, Kaylene Whiskey saturates her dazzling artworks with strong and resilient heroines such as Dolly Parton, Cat Woman, Wonder Woman, Tina Turner and even nuns and the biblical Mary. These fiercely feminine figures are an ode to self-determination and empowerment. Transposed to Indulkana, a remote Aboriginal led community in South Australia near the tri-state border, Whiskey’s strident femmes tell stories from the head and heart seamlessly melding traditional motifs with popular culture.

Whiskey’s joyful, sassy female characters are emblazoned across canvases of tiny multi coloured dots, cut-outs from Northern Territory tourist magazine, video stills and road signs. She creates harmony, love and fun by imbuing her vibrant oeuvre with kunpu (woman) dancing, waving, singing and smiling surrounded by cupcakes, lollies, hearts and butterflies, coca cola bottles and gifts as well as tjukurpa (ancestral stories) such as the Kungkarangkapla (Seven Sisters) story about women who travel together and look after each other.