First Light | Skywhales Across Australia

Skywhale and Skywhalepapa as the sun rises. Skywhalepapa is a monumental sculpture in the form of a hot-air balloon. Together with its companion piece Skywhale they form a skywhale family. As the skywhales float across the dawn skies, Piccinini calls on communities to engage with them creatively. Make a morning of it, prepare a picnic, watch in awe, and sing along in wonder as the skywhale family takes flight.

Image credit: Patricia Piccinini, Skywhalepapa, 2020 and Skywhale, 2013, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, © Patricia Piccinini. Photo by We Met in June

‘I imagine visitors assembling to watch these giant figures come to life. As the dawn breaks. They see Skywhalepapa and Skywhale take shape and ascend into the air together, connected by a bond of care. It is a simple story, but a beautiful and uplifting one. With a single skywhale figure we have a character, but with the two we have a relationship and a narrative.’ Patricia Piccinini