Audio described exhibition portraits

Arts Project Australia (APA) is a creative social enterprise that supports neurodiverse artists. Ways of Seeing: Portraits of an artist features works by APA artists alongside portraits by established photographers. Upon entering the space, the interconnected works reflect eight individual ways of seeing through photography, painting and ceramics. Each pair of artists occupies one of the four walls.

The first eastern wall has the collaboration between APA artist Cathy Staughton and photographer Clare Rae. Three photographs of Cathy have her in the same backyard background, vibrant dyed red hair, black glasses, purple crush velvet dress and large wooden cross necklace, and black wristwatch. The hand gestures in each photograph are the point of difference. First, Cathy touches her pointers and thumbs together to form a triangle gesture. The second photo has Cathy covering her face with her hands, obscuring her face completely. The third photograph has Cathy making binoculars with her fingers in a playful gesture.

Cathy’s five paintings spread out to the right of the framed photograph triptych by Clare. All but one small canvas are framed with large white boards. All the paintings share the style of vibrant colour and bold patterning; the four framed paintings being figurative, and the small canvas is reminiscent of the Luna Park entrance in Sydney. Moving clockwise, the second wall has the collaborative work of APA artist Mark Smith and photographer Ross Coulter. Ross’ photo of Mark is set outside, dominated by the gnarly tree in the background. Mark leans his back into its lumpy trunk extending his feet and hands out in an active pose. Mark’s fingers are splayed and open, catching the natural light. His clothing are jeans and a checked shirt, casual and comfy.

To the right of the photograph by Ross, Mark has created glazed ceramic words in a 3D tubular font in perspex cases on the wall. The first word DEPEND is in brackets and glossy black. The second word INTENTION is mounted slightly lower on the wall and is moss green and rusted bronze-brown. The third word PATIENCE is raised higher again and is in red and black. The final word SWEETHEART is mounted lower in reds and white splotches.

The third wall features the collaboration between APA artist Eden Menta and photographer Janelle Low. In Janelle’s photo we have a bird's eye view of Eden laying upon their spread-out artwork on the floor. Cropped just below their chest it suggests that Eden lays there naked with arms covering their breasts. A golden scrunchie on Eden’s wrist, with their head tilted up to the left and their deep brown hair bleached blonde at the tips. Eden’s artwork is splayed around them with a drawn eyeball, skull and close-up photographs of Eden looking serious, noticeable. There’s an imitation hospital identification card stating their date of admission as 17 October 2022.

Eden’s three framed photographs spread out to the right of their photographic portrait by Janelle. The first has Eden with a serious expression in a room with a large makeup case. Eden is applying colour to their lip with a brush. The second has Eden with a playful opened mouth, crossed-eyed expression, closely cropped. Smears of purple makeup are concentrated around their eyes and neck. The third photograph is black and white and has a horror film performative element to it with Eden’s hair pulled tight to the left and right, glassy eyes, vacant expression, and light directly behind their head and skull face paint over the bottom part of their face.

The fourth and final wall features the collaboration between APA artist Alan Constable and Andrew Curtis. Andrew’s photo of Alan is dominated by a large professional case full of camera equipment at the centre. Placed on a green floor in a white corrugated walled indoor space, Alan, dressed casually in jeans, is hunched over, with his balding grey head tilted so he can fully investigate the camera equipment in Andrew’s case.

Alan’s nine glazed ceramic objects are spread out to the right of the photograph by Andrew. The objects are split into four level perspex wall mounts. Two bulbous ceramic glazed cameras are in the first, one of brown-red glaze, the other green. The second perspex casing has a swollen blue camera. The third has red and grey askew binoculars. The final perspex mount being the longest, with five crooked ceramic cameras: blue, orange-yellow, moss green, brown-grey and white.

Written and voiced by Amy Middleby

Abdul Abdullah is a Muslim, with both Malay/Indonesian and convict/settler Australian heritage. He has made two large tapestries each depicting a hybrid figure which has the head of a tiger and the body of a human. Both are densely embroidered and textured and hang unframed from a length of black shiny bamboo.

The artwork on the left is Watched but not seen created in 2022, machine made tapestry, 241cm high by 179cm wide. The entire background is black with an even arrangement of red and burgundy bamboo canes and leaves. The bamboo pattern starts 40cm from the bottom and is cropped at the top and side of the tapestry. Sitting on the ground in the centre, nestled in front of the bamboo, is the figure. It occupies two thirds of the foreground. Its tiger head is positioned front on. The fur is shades of bright orange and yellow, creams, browns, pale grey and white with patchy black stripes. It has round upright fuzzy ears, small black eyes staring straight out, a long wide nose, black whiskers, hairy cheeks and a furry chin. Its human body, a lean, adolescent male, is positioned to the side, facing right. It is sitting on the ground hugging its knees close to its bare chest, arms folded in front of its shins and hands tucked between the arms and shins. It is wearing a pair of white baggy shorts, a band of vibrant blue pattern running down the sides. Large bare feet are placed close to its body. The skin is a blotchy mix of colours, pinks, mauves, lilacs, browns, creams and blues. The colours look as if they were applied like daubs of paint from a paintbrush.

The artwork on the right Surveilled was created in 2022, machine made tapestry, 221cm high by 176cm wide. The entire background is black with a decorative geometric light blue and blue grey pattern around the sides and top of the tapestry. Near the top the pattern arches into a shape like that of an Islamic window from a mosque. Crouching on the ground framed by the pattern is the figure. It occupies two thirds of the foreground. Its tiger head is turned to the left. The fur is shades of burnt orange, browns, creams, white and blue with patchy black stripes. It has upright round ears, large black eyes looking to the left, a small slender nose and black whiskers. Its human body, a boy, is positioned to the side, facing left. It is crouched close to the ground, its bare torso leaning into its knees, its arms and hands poised at right angles in front of its shins, wearing black shorts with two parallel red stripes running down the sides. Small bare feet are planted a hip’s width distance apart on the ground. The skin is a blotchy mix of colours, chocolate browns, lights browns, bruisey pinks and creams and the colours look as if they were applied like daubs of paint from a paint brush.

Written by Marina Neilson and voiced by Krysia Kitch

A Piece of the Continent, a Part of the Main is a self-portrait by Meriam and Yuoungathi man Christopher Bassi. The painting is oil on canvas and measures 239.5cm high by 160.5cm wide.

The whole picture is in blended natural tones, from cream through pale ochre, deep amber brown to warm greys and charcoal. Christopher is life-sized, centrally positioned, holding a large baler shell near to his right ear. He is standing in an industrial environment. The background is raw plywood panelling, yellow ochre in colour, the knots in the wood, small loose circles of brown ochre. The floor is grey concrete and in the left-hand corner, lengths of timber are lying on the floor with larger panels of timber leaning against each other and angled towards the wall.

Light falling from the right divides the background into areas of light and shadow with warm brown ochre shaded diagonally from the top right-hand corner, behind Christopher’s shoulders to half way down the left side.

Christopher has short dark wavy hair swept back off his high forehead. He has light brown skin, dark eyebrows and downward looking dark eyes.

Light plays across his features, casting shadows beneath his eyes. He has a straight nose, closely trimmed black beard and moustache and closed lips, his neck in shadow. He is wearing a loosely fitted, untucked, mid-grey long sleeved shirt, open at the neck and with the cuffs turned back.

Both hands hold a large baler shell, similar in shape to a snail shell but as large as his head. It is held near to his right ear. The outside of the shell is a warm deep golden yellow and its interior a soft creamy light orange.

Christopher’s dark grey denim trousers end at his ankles. His bare feet are at ninety degrees to each other with dark shadows blending into the grey floor on his right.

Written and voiced by Krysia Kitch

A series of four works on paper, A Way with Words by Dylan Mooney, created in 2023. Hand-drawn illustrative portraits in charcoal and graphite pencil, overlaid with text painted in deep brown ochre. Unframed, the works measure a meter high by 80cm wide.

This series depicts four different First Nations people from Mooney’s arts community in Central/North Queensland, overlaid with language they use when they meet each other. From left to right the subjects and text, in large capital letters, are Kyra Mancktelow: ‘You’re just too deadly’, Dylan Mooney: ‘You stay tru gawd’, Thea Anamara Perkins: ‘Hey you mob’ and Tony Albert: ‘Aww bless.’

Each subject is drawn on textured off-white paper with a deckled edge, prominent against the stark off-white background and gazing out with strong neutral expressions, cropped at their chests. Kyra wears a dark camisole and lighter toned overshirt with a necklace of many strands of beads hugging her neck. Dylan, Thea and Tony each wear casual t-shirts.

Focusing on the self- portrait of Dylan Mooney, he is positioned front on, the edge of the paper cropping his chest and shoulder. He wears a casual black t-shirt. The words, ‘You say tru gawd’ painted in brown ochre, partially obscures the right side of his face.

Thick tight curls of fair hair spring off his head and caress his forehead. He has groomed eyebrows over almond shaped eyes, with his gaze directed slightly to the right. He has a wide nose and manicured moustache touching the edges of his full closed lips. The muscles in his face are relaxed, giving him a neutral expression.

Audio description by Alana Sivell, March 2023

Fantastic Faces Space was created by Kate Beynon in 2023. The work was made for the National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait23: Identity exhibition. It is a mix of repurposed and recycled materials including digital prints on textile, Velcro, cotton, wool, felt, vinyl, and wood. Fantastic Faces Space was made on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, Naarm/Melbourne.

It is an installation including four large watercolour paintings and a felt wall where visitors can arrange cushion-like elements with Velcro backings into mythological figures. The watercolour images and elements used to create the figures are drawn from the artist’s Cantonese/Malaysian and Welsh/Celtic heritage.

The installation is set in a ‘u’ shaped space with two short walls, approximately three and a half metres long on either side of a long wall, approximately seven metres long. The walls are covered in a vinyl print resembling the rough texture of watercolour paper, with a wash of bright purple watercolour. Painted green foliage and bright fruit and flowers grow up from the floor and hang down from the ceiling.

Each of the short walls is hung with two watercolour paintings of the same size and materials, facing each other. Shapeshifter Zu & Fam Spirits is on the left of the far left wall, while Shapeshifter Tudo & Fam Spirits is to its right. On the far right wall, Shapeshifter Guardian Spirits: Alienne, Blue Shaman, Lotus Goddess, Fox Spirit and Gorgon Guardians, is on the left and Shapeshifter Nyx, Calsifer & Fam Spirits is on the right. Each painting is approximately one metre wide and 75cm tall in its simple, dark wood frame. Kate has created the paintings with watercolour, gouache, metallic pigment and pencil on cotton rag paper. They show human-like and creature-like faces, surrounded by foliage and botanical elements relating to Cantonese/Malaysian and Welsh/Celtic symbolism and mythology. The colour palette is primarily blues, greens and purples with highlights in bright tangerine and magenta.

The long middle wall is covered in the same purple watercolour wash with painted foliage hanging down from its upper edge, as the short walls. Additionally, on the lower portion, approximately two and a half metres high, are six vertical padded felt panels. From left to right, two panels in aqua, two lime green and two in purple fabric. Visitors can then create their own mythological figures by rearranging any of the available cushions onto the felt. There are over 200 cushions in a range of designs and colours, drawing from the palette of the watercolours. Each cushion is around 30cm long and has a Velcro backing so it can be stuck by visitors onto the felt wall. The designs include froggy, goddess, and puppy eyes, puppy and Alienne noses, mouths, ears, brows, goddess hands, ginkgo leaves and lotus petals. Kate painted each element in watercolour, they were digitally printed onto cotton, sewn together and filled.

The small cushions are stored in four simple, slatted, raw pine boxes. The boxes are spaced evenly across the width of the installation. Twelve further leaf-shaped cushions, approximately 70cm long, in blue, purple and green are scattered on the floor.

Written and voiced by Lucinda Shawcross

Dolly flying to Iwantja, 2022, by Kaylene Whiskey, a Yankunytjatjara artist. It is a synthetic polymer painting on linen measuring 152 cm by 122 cm.

Whiskey’s Dolly Flying to Iwantja combines elements from everyday life in her community with celebratory depictions of pop culture icons.

The colours are bright and bold. The figures and elements are simply executed but realistic, decorated with patterns, dots and geometric designs. The background is smooth and white. Throughout the work are scattered various objects, symbols, plants and animals, including blue flower-shaped clouds, love hearts, butterflies, a pink galah, flowers, honey ants in a coolamon, a clock face and a tea set on a table.

Along the top of the composition is a large figure of Dolly Parton holding a pink guitar, flying in a bright blue sky. Her body is on an angle, with her head in the top right corner, her torso and crossed legs sloping downwards to the left, ending with her feet half away down the canvas.

Dolly’s pale oval face is surrounded by golden curls. She has large, wide-open dark eyes, mustard yellow circles on her cheeks, dusty pink pursed lips and a brown dot on her pointy chin. She is wearing a creamy yellow short jumpsuit with a brown belt and collar, covered with dots and large flowers on either side of the belt. Her black spikey high heels have pink flowers on the toes.

Below Dolly on the left side is a winged love heart, and below that a banner saying Iwantja Arts. Resting on top of this banner is a pot with a bunch of flowers including Sturt Desert Peas, flanked on either side by a bottle of coca cola.

In the bottom left corner there is a dark brown mass covered in concentric circles and curved lines. Two kangaroos holding mugs balance on the edge of this shape. The kangaroos’ speech bubbles read ‘Dolly please play Jolene’ and ‘Kaylene is selling Minkulpa’.

Near these kangaroos is a poster of Wonder Woman with the text Kungka Kunpu on it.

To the right is a large potted flowering native tobacco plant.

Kaylene Whiskey stands in the bottom right corner. She has short hot pink hair. Her skin is dark brown, her large eyes black. On her cheeks are russet circles and her lips are bright red.

She is wearing a yellow and purple spotted top, with a cartoon tiger face on the front and a mid-length yellow, puple and pink spotted skirt, a pair of purple boots outlined in hot pink. She is holding an Aboriginal flag in her right hand and in her left hand is a leash attached to small dog at her feet.

Directly above the dog is a floating head with the David Bowie lighting bolt across its face, with a thought bubble that reads ‘David Bowie loves the dog’. Above this group are two boomerangs Dolly Parton written on one and Kaylene. E on the other.

Written and voiced by Sally Dawson

The love story of the little River Rock Cod and the Red Kangaroo is a series of ceramic works created by Naomi Hobson in 2023. These irregular cylindrical clay vessels have rough surfaces covered in ceramic glaze, and are in an assortment of sizes measuring from about 33 to 41cm high and an outer diameter from 8 to 10cm.

This series explores the powerful and ancient links between Country and identity. The cylindrical works stand on individual white plinths. Two central larger vessels with detailed carved designs are raised on slightly higher plinths than the six smaller works arranged in a circle around them.

The largest clay work resides on the tallest plinth. It is coloured with brown glaze that has been carved into, revealing an off-white clay beneath. These carved lines, organic concentric squares and organic floral and plant motifs encircle the work. Triangular and circular pieces of clay are attached on opposite sides of the cylinder, mirroring each other.

The slightly smaller central work has a grey glaze with designs scratched into its surface, revealing white underneath. On one side, four grey rings float one on top of the other against a white rectangle background that is bordered in arched designs on the sides and small circles on the top and bottom. On the opposite side of the vessel are carved lines arranged to connect three rectangular motifs. Ten flat discs of clay are attached, sticking out, five on either side of the work.

The smaller works’ surfaces are pocked with round depressions coloured with black glaze, in stark contrast against the tan clay. White dots dance across the surface of each, scattered irregularly.

Written and voiced by Alana Sivell

Happy Australian by Vipoo Srivilvasa, created in 2022. Ceramic, glaze, gold lustre.

Ten figurines varying in height from 40 to 56cm, width from 19 to 34cm and depth from 13 to 19cm. They are presented on a large white plinth three metres long, one metre wide and one metre high. A low barrier of black uprights and thick wire surrounds the artwork one metre from the base of the plinth.

The fantastical figures dressed in spectacular and elaborate outfits are arranged in two ordered and evenly spaced rows on the large plinth. They are all standing; five facing one direction lengthways, five facing the opposite direction lengthways, as if parading down a catwalk. The edge of the plinth is framed with a shiny grey metal border and hundreds of small upright lightbulbs. The mood is exuberant.

Two figurines are described in more detail.

The first titled Climate Change Bug Ball (inspired by Linden Dean) is at the front of a row, facing front on, the first we see upon entering the room. Directly to its left is a figure facing the opposite direction.

It has tall turquoise and gold rabbit ears flaring up and out from the top of its white oval head. Hugging its face like a bonnet are five stylised daisies with alternating black and white petals and a gold bulbous disc at the centre. It is wearing bright orange rimmed cat-eye shaped glasses with reflective silver lenses. Orange and black striped shapes resembling the rabbit ears flare up and out from the top of each side of the glasses. It has pale orange lips stretched into a huge open-mouthed smile revealing a full set of zigzagging pointy white and silver teeth. It stands with its arms diagonally out from its sides, fingers pointing and turned upward, encased in lo ng red gloves. It is wearing a white jumpsuit which balloons out over its rotund torso and legs. The jumpsuit has short capped sleeves trimmed with big upright black and white daisy petals. The upper half is decorated with naturalistic colour illustrations of beetle specimens, wings folded in. The lower half is decorated with relief-style commemorative black and white plates, shaped liked daisies. The rims are white, the centre circles black with gold illustrations of skulls, crowns, butterflies and moths, wings splayed out.

The second figurine titled WE (Western and Eastern) (inspired by Clarine Wilmar) is positioned diagonally opposite at the other end of the display, facing front on. It is a hybrid creature with the head of a dog, the body of a human and the wings and claws of a bat. A ring of ten pale orange triangles, like a star, wrap around the figure’s round head. At the base of each triangle is a stylised gold daisy with a bulbous mauve disc and small red dot at its centre. It has light brown skin, dark eyebrows, large dark round eyes wide open and wide apart. A black heart-shaped nose, its muzzle parted, and its small narrow pink tongue sticking out. It is standing with its arms raised forward of its body at right angles. Its hands are positioned palms up; resting in its right palm is an oversized dumpling, in its left, a hamburger. It is wearing a deep blue baggy onesie decorated with ornate gold circular patterns. The sleeve cuffs are shaped like pale orange flowers, each flower point ends with a gold daisy at the tip. It has black wings like a bat spreading out and up, with big broad gold stripes. It has short legs. It stands on bat claws decorated with gold dots and light yellow nails. There is a tiny white and black dog with bushy eyebrows and a big red smile lying down and snuggled between its claws.

Written and voiced by Marina Neilson

Five Yarrenyty Arltere Artists from Arrente Country have created a series of ten soft sculpture memory portraits made from bush-dyed recycled woollen blankets embellished with wool, cotton and feathers. The series is called Aangerra Mwerre, Lovely Face.

Yarrenyty Arltere is an Aboriginal owned and run art centre located in the Larapinta Valley Town Camp, Alice Springs, on Arrernte Country.

Seven of the sculptures sit on white ledges at varied heights, staggered across the wall and three are on free-standing metal supports spaced across the floor in front.

All the sculptures are simplified stylised figures with exaggerated elements and all are densely embroidered with brightly coloured wool.

Four of the ten sculptures are described in further detail.

On the far upper left is Head with bird by Rosabella Ryder. Irregular in shape it measures 72cm high, 45cm wide and 29cm deep. It is a simple head and shoulders with hair in three round bunches. Nestled between the far left and middle bunch of hair is a large bird with bright blue crest and curved beak.

The face is outlined in lime green stitching and small circular shapes. It has blue eyes with long black lashes, a yellow triangular nose and orange lips. It is dressed in a multi-striped shirt.

To the right and approximately 40cm lower is Rhonda Sharpe’s My two lovely faces looking at each other and smiling for love, which is 45cm high, 58cm wide and 13cm deep. It is a combination of two heads in profile gazing at each other, joined at the shoulders, which face forward. The left-hand figure has dark brown hair streaming out behind, large dark eyes with raised eyebrows and full closed red lips. She wears a checked top with purple vertical stripes, green and red horizontal stripes alternating with golden yellow stars.

The right-hand figure has messy dark brown hair, dark eyebrows and eyes and orange lips. She wears a shirt with a pink, yellow and royal blue floral pattern.

Immediately to the right of the centre at the top is Tjilkamata Head 1 by Dulcie Sharpe, 69cm high, 44cm wide and 28cm deep. It is a simple circular head shape in natural linen, printed with an abstract pattern of swirling blue lines and two blue dots. On its head perches an echidna facing left, with a large yellow eye with dark blue centre, its teal coloured body overlaid with a bold irregular pattern of bright pink and inside that, four clusters of four yellow petals. Its forelegs overhang on the left side, the back legs tucked behind the figure’s head and the tail overhanging on the right. Five big spikes span the top of the echidna’s back, each with a red stripe down the centre, outlined in yellow.

On the far right, on a curved metal stand is Girl with dillybag full of bushfood by Marlene Rubuntja, 67cm high, 40.5cm wide and 17cm deep. The top of the sculpture is approximately 1.5 metres above the ground. It is a full-length figure of a girl with short, straight, red hair, blue eyes, and an o-shaped open mouth with fuchsia pink lips. Her outstretched arms are multicoloured with red, yellow, dark green and teal overlapping stitches. Her pale blue sleeveless top has three yellow buttons with violet centres placed vertically in a row from neck to mid-chest. Her A-line skirt is dark teal with a brightly multi-striped bottom edge. The wide beige strap of a large bag is looped around her neck, the oversized bag hangs in front of and below her body. The bag is mousey brown embellished with brown and orange circles above striped white and red flowers and large green leaves. Two large spherical shapes bulge out of the top of the bag, one on top of the other. The top shape is orange and purple and the one beneath is varying tones of green.

Written by Marina Neilson and voiced by Krysia Kitch