Skywhales Across Australia

Touring Exhibition
22 Feb 2025
Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, NSW
Free

Patricia Piccinini, Skywhale 2013 and Skywhalepapa 2020, Skywhales: Every Heart Sings, Maitland NSW, 2022, image courtesy Maitland Regional Art Gallery, photograph: Leighsa Cox

'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

About

Skywhales Across Australia will see Patricia Piccinini’s beloved Skywhale 2013 and Skywhalepapa 2019–2020 take their family on another tour of Australia.

In the form of two monumental hot air balloons, the skywhale family represent nature, family, evolution, care and wonder. This touring exhibition presents a rare opportunity for regional Australians to experience the magic of the skywhales within their own community.

Skywhales Across Australia is a National Gallery Touring Event, supported by the Australian Government through Visions of Australia and the National Collecting Institutions Touring Outreach Program.

Skywhales Across Australia is the third instalment of The Balnaves Contemporary Series and is a Know My Name project, the National Gallery initiative celebrating the work of all women artists to enhance understanding of their contribution to Australia’s cultural life.

Curators: Elspeth Pitt, Senior Curator, Australian Art and Rebecca Edwards, Senior Curator, Australian Art.

Patricia Piccinini's *Skywhale*, 2013 and *Skywhalepapa*, 2020 for the *Skywhales: Every Heart Sings* National Gallery Touring Event, The Grampians, VIC, 2022, image supplied from Hamilton Gallery.

Patricia Piccinini, *Skywhales: Every Heart Sings* Touring Event, Melbourne, 2022, © Patricia Piccinini, photo by Damien Hayes

Photograph of Patricia Piccinini's Skywhale and Skywhalepapa hot air balloon in the sky over the Grampions — Patricia Piccinini *Skywhale*, 2013, Gift of anonymous donor 2019 through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program and *Skywhalepapa*, 2020 National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, Commissioned with the assistance of The Balnaves Foundation 2019, purchased 2020 © Patricia Piccinini Photo by We Met in June

A group of people sit on the ground watching Skywhale hot air balloons taking off — Patricia Piccinini, *Skywhal*e, 2013 and *Skywhalepapa*, 2020, © Patricia Piccinini

A photograph of a woman standing in a field watching a hot-air balloon in the shape of a flying whale being inflated. — Patricia Piccinini inspects the inflation of *Skywhalepapa* during a test flight in December 2020

Children's Book

Every Heart Sings follows the journey of the skywhale family and talks about nature, family, evolution, care and wonder. Published by the National Gallery of Australia, it is Patricia Piccinini's first children's book.

Available from the National Gallery Art Store for RRP $29.95 (inc GST). Learn more here.

Colouring Sheets

Colour your own skywhales with these printable colouring sheets.

Black and white drawing of skywhales with the text 'Every heart sings, Patricia Piccinini'

Every Heart Sings Colouring Sheet

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Skywhales Over Canberra

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Skywhales Song

Photo of lady smiling with guitar in hand in front of Skywhale balloons — Musician Jess Green (AKA Pheno)

Canberra musician Jess Green (AKA Pheno) collaborated with Patricia Piccinini in 2020 to compose the song We are the Skywhales for the Every heart sings project. Listen to the song below, or sing your heart out the karaoke version of We are the Skywhales!

WE ARE THE SKYWHALES

we heard a story
way back when in the days of old
we did slither among the fishes
walked out of the soup we’re told

but how how, we asked them how
could we have walked on earth back then
in a million years they said,
a creature morphs again and again

fire down in our bellies
catching the wind in our tails
fire down in our bellies
catching the wind in our tails

we had legs to walk on
we did roam with feet to ground
we went foraging for a future
a brand new seed was what we found

but why why did we rise up
was it by magic that we flew?
inside our bodies a crazy mixture
that carried us up into the blue

swirl-ing around was heat and air,
tiny creatures hidden there
making a vapour - we did swell
slowly our bodies began to rise
up we went, leaving the earth then

time passed we grew our tails
steering in the wind

all together our hearts are bouncing,
with the call that sings us high
dreaming of up of where we're going
beautiful blue, beautiful play-sky

wind takes us many places
our song is loud wherever we're flung to
feel the gaze on our little faces
every body's heart sings when it's sung to

fire down in our bellies
catching the wind in our tails
we sail up and up above you
we are the skywhales!

fire down in our bellies!
catching the wind in our tails
we sail up and up above you
we are the skywhales!

Old Father Time he wanders on
Mama nature sings her song along
it’s a beautiful thing, how we become

and keep on becoming (keep on becoming)
until there’s no-one else like us, until there’s no-one else
like us,

until there’s no-one else
like us,

we are the lucky ones
still roaming the globe

our bodies need a lot of love
flying naked in the air
we ride clinging to papa’s back
we learn to float with Mama’s care

and as we soar among the clouds
we see ourselves in the shadows below
and all the other creatures free
living together in a delicate flow

hear our hearts humming with our mamas song
papa sings as we soar along

we're holding on
Papa's arms are strong around us

wonder a mile high
we are the lucky ones
still roaming the globe