Entertainment
29 August, 2022
Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhales take over Cairns’ skies
SET your alarms early on Saturday, September 3 as Cairns plays host to Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhale family.
Skywhale and Skywhalepapa are monumental sculptures in the form of hot-air balloons that will be in Cairns for one day only.
The Gallery, in partnership with the National Gallery of Australia, will become a tropical home to Skywhale 2013 and Skywhalepapa 2020 as the two fantastical creatures are inflated and tethered at the Cairns Showgrounds as part of Cairns Festival 2022 on its 60th anniversary.
While the balloons are not able to make a free-flight across Cairns due to the proximity of the Cairns flight path, a tether will allow audiences to enjoy these incredible floating sculptures up close and personal for longer.
To celebrate this event, the community is invited to bring a blanket and picnic breakfast to the Cairns Showgrounds to be part of the action. This is a free event but bookings are essential.
Artist Patricia Piccinini said skywhales were creatures that could only be spotted once in a lifetime.
“One of the things about the skywhales is that you need to be lucky to see them,” Ms Piccinini said.
“The wind and weather must be right, essentially nature must allow us to see them and we cannot control that.
“We are lucky if we get to see them, just like we are lucky if we get to see so many of the wonders of the natural world.
“It reminds us that not everything is just for us whenever we want it. And that we should be grateful. I really love that.”
Currently on a national tour, ‘Skywhales: Every heart sings’ is an extraordinary project which seeks to present extraordinary art across Australia.
And Skywhales is presented by Cairns Art Gallery in partnership with National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra and Cairns Festival.
Skywhale and Skywhalepapa will delight and enthrall audiences on Saturday, September 3 at the Cairns Showgrounds. Gates open at 5am, the skywhales are launched at 6.20 am.
For more information, visit https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/exhibitions/skywhales or click on https://bit.ly/3R4LN3n in our online version of the paper.
