Contemporary Female Artworks in Australia: Del Kathryn Barton and Kaylene Whiskey

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Twenty-first century art is identified as a burgeoning arena of practice,
investigation and publication thus developing it into a highly dynamic field of study1.
Majority of contemporary artists especially females in Australia embrace traditional
techniques of art. Such an adoption of art is to create unconventional forms of societal
subjects and seek current social and political issues. A prominent tendency in the 21st
century has relied on participatory artworks whereby social interactions encouraged by
a work turn out to be its content2. Contemporary female artworks of Australian female
artists focused on relational aesthetics whereby the artwork significantly engages the
public in delving into issues related to social, cultural and political subjects of recent
times. The following essay will shed light on artworks of two modern day female artists
namely Del Kathryn Barton and Kaylene Whiskey in Australia and the way artworks of
Barton namely My Frogs Are Blazing in 2018 and I'm going through changes 2016 and
Whiskey’s Wonder Women and Kaylene TV which have explored recent social and
cultural issues.
Since the 1960s, feminism has been identified as the source of outstanding
theoretical as well as practical creativity in the field of arts. In the framework of
Australian women obtaining enhanced views and understanding of their contemporary
world. Thus, it is imperative to recognize the role of the feminist movement in shaping
the identity of Australian women artists3. Women in the field of art and culture, argued in
opposition to the discriminations and unfairness of female portrayal and outlook in the
society as vital part of ‘second wave feminism’ in the 1960s, while artists such as
Vivienne Binns and Juno Gemes in 1967 have been giving performances and
demonstrating exhibitions regarding feminist issues. Their art exhibition and sculptures
had exhibited symbolic depictions of genitalia, whichwas perceived to be outrageous
during that era4. Such proliferations have been taking place during a period of 1970s,
1Shiva, Vandana. Staying alive: Women, ecology, and development. North Atlantic Books, 2016.
2 Lusty, Natalya. Surrealism, feminism, psychoanalysis. Routledge, 2017.
3 Johnson, Imani Kai. "From blues women to b-girls: performing badass femininity." Women &
Performance: a journal of feminist theory 24, no. 1 (2014): 15-28.
4Chesler, Phyllis. Women and madness. Chicago Review Press, 2018.

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when extensive civil rights activism has been giving rise to issues related to Aboriginal
land rights along with gay and lesbian intolerance in addition to objections, which have
been performed against the Vietnam War. In recent times, groups of young women
artists have taken on the responsibility of incorporating The Kingpins and Brown Council
in the twenty-first century. While new associations like the Adelaide-based Feminist
Renewal Art Network (FRAN) draw together women who are dynamic in the visual arts 5.
For example, a feministBrisbane based Artist Run Initiative (ARI) initiated as No Frills,
with the directors then going on to form LEVEL, and now are running the Boxcopy ARI.
In 2012, ‘Contemporary Australia: Women’ staged the work of 56 women artists in a
major exhibition taken place at QAGOMA in Brisbane. These artworks depict the
importance of feminism in the field of artwork in Australia6.
Since the world of contemporary art is frequently guided through the filter of
mass media. Such filter of mass media inclined towards artworks from the Western
Civilisation integrating with Australian art sounds like a refreshing glimpse from the well-
known contemporary art scene. Influential female sexuality is regarded as the
quintessence of womanhood as believed by contemporary Australian female artist Del
Kathryn Barton since 2008. Del Kathryn Barton received substantial attention for her
obscure and dynamic artworks of women with shape-shifting bodies and calm along
with disconnected faces7. Such artistic illustration has facilitated Barton’s work to be
positioned acrossmass media and explores countless facets regarding female sexuality
that is one of the critical issues of contemporary society. However, Barton has
sometimes been accused of reserving surface for substance in her artworks. From the
famous artwork of Del, My Frogs Are Blazing it can be noted that the eye is driven in
aninexorableagitation around each of the panels, unable to rest anywhere or act in
liberation and thus is continually challenged with societal pressures and demands.
5Taylor, Stephanie. "A new mystique? Working for yourself in the neoliberal economy." The Sociological
Review 63 (2015): 174-187.
6 McLean, Heather. "Digging into the creative city: A feminist critique." Antipode 46, no. 3 (2014): 669-690.
7Pisch, Anita. 2017. "Del Kathryn Barton Explores Powerful Female Sexuality But Reproduces The Male
Gaze". The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/del-kathryn-barton-explores-powerful-female-
sexuality-but-reproduces-the-male-gaze-87746.