Australian story reaches its finale on Monday with ‘It’s My Party’ is a portrait of a woman who defies all definition.
Growing up on the remote Pacific island of Guam, Kirsha Kaechele has always felt like an outsider. It’s one of the reasons why the US-born artist behind the controversial Ladies Lounge is taking on a challenge.
“I want to ask the hard questions, but I want to ask them playfully and lovingly,” she tells Australian Story. “That makes it easier to explore things and enter uncomfortable spaces.”
Since meeting David Walsh, the founder of Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art, and moving to Tasmania, Kirsha has relished those awkward spaces.
In her own unique way, she has tackled one of the island’s most persistent issues – the battle between the forestry industry and conservationists – by inviting all parties to a three-day Forest Economic Congress in 2023.
“We should literally invite our opponents to our parties. We shouldn’t just sit in echo chambers. We should drink with them,” says Kirsha.
“It was an emotional roller coaster for three days,” said Dwayne Kerrison, a forestry contractor who attended the event. “Great feelings and then some weird art.”
More recently, she attracted international attention when she turned a lawsuit against her women-only Ladies Lounge installation into performance art, simultaneously mocking the lawsuit and making serious comments about misogyny and privilege.
“She dares to be feminine and sexual and to talk about sexuality and those power dynamics,” says artist and curator Michael Zavros. “It’s confrontational for men; it’s confrontational for the art world.”
She is the first to admit that she is not always warmly welcomed in the traditional art world.
“I’ve had to deal with these kinds of serious critics from the art world who just told me I’m not an artist,” she complains. “But it gave me something to fight against.”
In an exclusive for Australian Story, the performance artist and provocateur creates a number of unusual characters to help tell her story: former teacher Sister Mary Catherine, hippie guru Sunfeather and German artist and critic Hans Richter.
“She’ll find some interesting ways to tell her story that might not involve her normal clothes,” says actor and friend Rhys Muldoon. “Her life is her art, so be prepared for some surprises.”
Producer: Robyn Powell.
Mondays 8pm on ABC.
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