Kelly 1965

Curator: This is Sir Sidney Nolan's print titled "Kelly," currently residing in the Tate Collections. The image measures 610 by 495 millimeters. Editor: The figure emanates a potent sense of alienation, doesn't it? The stark, box-like helmet and the intense red hues evoke feelings of constraint and simmering anger. Curator: Absolutely. Nolan used screenprinting, a commercial technique, to render the iconic bushranger Ned Kelly. This choice speaks to the mass production of myth and the commodification of Australian identity. Editor: And Kelly himself, masked and armored, becomes a symbol of resistance against colonial power, but also of the violence inherent in that struggle. The red is not just angry, it bleeds. Curator: Precisely. The raw, almost crude application of ink, in contrast with the refined art world, forces us to question how national heroes are made and consumed. Editor: I find it deeply unsettling, the way it connects historical injustice with contemporary power structures. It makes you wonder who gets to write the narrative. Curator: It challenges the viewer to actively engage with the myths we perpetuate. Editor: A disquieting but necessary encounter.