Kelly 1965

Curator: Up next we have Sidney Nolan’s image of "Kelly". It's just over 60 cm high, a striking presence, wouldn't you agree? Editor: My first thought? Haunted. Those eyes peering from behind the mask, the heavy lines – it’s the stuff of nightmares, really. Curator: It’s fascinating how Nolan transforms Ned Kelly, a figure of Australian folklore, into an almost universal symbol of the outsider. Editor: Absolutely. The mask itself, that iconic square, it's like a screen, a blank slate onto which we project our own fears and anxieties. Those colors, the muted gold and blood-red, it speaks of danger and history. Nolan's Kelly embodies rebellion but also isolation, a poignant paradox. What do you think? Curator: There's such raw vulnerability beneath the surface. It's like looking at a phantom. Maybe it's the gold ground, or the lack of detail, but it feels like Kelly is fading away before our eyes. Editor: Yes, a ghost of history, reminding us that legends are rarely simple. A powerful, unsettling image.