Whiskey was born on 26 June 1976 in the small community of Indulkana, a remote Aboriginal community in South Australia in the APY Lands of South Australia.
She is a Pitjantjatjara woman, the granddaughter of Whiskey Tjukangku. Her family was very involved in the arts, and she grew up around the art centre. As she grew older, she said that painting there was "a good way to keep busy and spend time with my family".
Career
Whiskey has developed a unique style which includes linking the traditional culture of her community's Elders with pop culture references in bright colours. Her favourite musicians Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, Michael Jackson and Cher (whom she often listens to as she paints) are often featured in her work. Whiskey says:
I like to listen to rock music and Tina Turner, and I paint with really strong colours, I put in lots of the special details, and everyone likes it. I paint strong stories too, paintings about heaven and Jesus, and sometimes Mintabie and paintings about my country Indulkana. Sometimes my paintings tell hard stories, but my paintings are always colourful and painting them makes me happy.
—Kaylene Whiskey
Whiskey refers to these idols as her kungkas, which means "woman", most often "young woman", in the Yankunytjatjara language. She has said:
'It's one of my dreams for Dolly to come and visit me in Indulkana, I love to listen to her music while I paint: "9 to 5", "Coat of many colours", "Jolene", and my number one, "Islands in the stream" with Kenny Rogers. I often think, "If Dolly came to visit, what would she do? What would she say? And what would she be wearing?".
2022: Iwantja Rock n Roll at the Fort Gansevoort gallery in New York, along with the work of Vincent Namatjira and Tiger Yaltangki. Included in the exhibition is her work Kungkas in Hollywood (2021), in which the artist is portrayed in a fantastical scene with Beyoncé and Dolly Parton.
2022: Whiskey partnered with knitwear bran WAH WAH to produce vibrant knits including 20 motifs from her artworks. These include cockatoos, boomerangs alongside her idols Cher, Dolly Parton and Wonder Woman.
2024: Participant in the 2024 Biennale of Sydney at White Bay Power Station, featuring her installation Kaylene TV, a walk-in television set filled with female pop icons, including black Wonder Woman, which appropriates pop culture
