Morphing figures, performing bodies and pop icons populate Bodywork, an exhibition that brings together mid-career Australian artists Amber Boardman (NSW), Tarryn Gill (WA) and Kaylene Whiskey (SA). Featuring soft sculpture, painting and video, Bodywork focuses on the body as a site for experimentation and self-expression, while exploring ideas connected to body modification, the cult of celebrity, and female empowerment.

Exhibiting Artists

Creating her largest works to date, Perth artist Tarryn Gill has made a series of contorted, multi-limbed soft sculptures that relate to her recent experiences in Java, where she encountered the winding forms of the colossal Trembesi trees. Gill, who has a background in competitive calisthenics, draws on the material language of dance and musical theatre costuming. Her new works merge tree forms with feminine bodily contortion to continue her exploration of the uncanny body.

Living in the remote Aboriginal community of Indulkana in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in north-west South Australia, Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey is rapidly gaining national acclaim for her joyous, detailed paintings of strong kungkas (women). Clad in sequinned outfits and thigh-high boots, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Cher and Whiskey perform songs on ‘Kaylene TV’, dance and enjoy mingkulpa (native tobacco) parties.

American-born, Sydney-based artist Amber Boardman is a painter with a background in animation. Her paintings abound with morphing, leaking and conjoined bodies, being put through acts of extreme self-care or participating in mass social rituals. She approaches her subjects with a complex blend of humour, criticality and empathy, while examining internet-based beauty ideals and the pressures of conformity. Her impasto painting technique and fleshy palette give a sense of visceral corporeality and a blurring of the body’s boundaries.

Bodywork is curated by Erin Coates, FAC Special Projects Curator

View the exhibition media release to find out more.

Tour the exhibition

Read the exhibition catalogue

Public Program

Artist Talk with Tarryn Gill, Erin Coates + Emma Buswell

Wed 18 Nov | 6:30pm sharp | 6pm gates open | Free entry | Bar open

Join us Wednesday 18 November, in the final days of the exhibition, as curator Erin Coates leads an informal tour of Bodywork and chats with artist Tarryn Gill about her works and broader practice.

FAC’s Emma Buswell will also be on hand to talk about curating Michelle Hamer’s exhibition Are You Having a Good Night? 

Yoga in the Galleries

Tue evenings: 27 Oct | 3 Nov | 10 Nov | 17 Nov
Main Gallery | 6:30pm sharp | Gates open 6pm | Class runs 60 mins
Free | Registrations essential as places are limited

To celebrate Bodywork, FAC is hosting free yoga sessions in the gallery over four weeks. We invite you to contemplate the artworks, which present the body as a site for experimentation and self-expression, as you take part in a fun and relaxed yoga class, suitable for all levels.

Find out more and secure your place.

Artist-to-Artist: Virtual Studio Visit with Amber Boardman

As a part of her broader creative practice, painter Amber Boardman offers free, one-on-one meetings with artists to discuss any aspect of their practice.

With over 20 years experience as a professional artist, animator, facilitator and lecturer, Amber brings expert insights to these sessions. Artists may use the appointment to discuss their creative careers and get feedback on proposals, websites or new work. Book in a Zoom meeting for your own virtual studio visit. 45 minutes each.

Bookings can be made via amberboardman.com/virtualstudiovisits.

This project is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.

Bodywork in the media

Bodywork Logos