Guardian Australia interviews Wendy Whiteley about objects that evoke happy memories and one she despises, including her daughter Arkie, the Sydney house that Brett Whiteley painted from and their divorce.
Three things with Wendy Whiteley : ‘My daughter died, so it’s a real emotional connection to her being very much alive’
Returning to comparatively sleepy Sydney might have felt like a step down – but Whiteley loved their Lavender Bay home so much that it didn’t matter. Many of Brett’s most famous paintings were produced from its balcony, which offers a prime view of the harbour. The family lived there until the late 1980s, when the couple divorced. They had both battled heroin addiction but, while Wendy managed to get clean, Brett died from an overdose in 1992. Arkie later died from cancer in 2001.
We had to make something for the school, so we made this and it just turned out so well. We made the face out of papier-mache. I made a lovely little corduroy frock with some red buttons for it to wear. I think Brett did a little bit of pinching on the mouse’s face. And we mounted it on a metal stand, so it’s like a sculpture. It now sits on my sculpture shelf, next to a Balinese puppet.
Wendy Whiteley Brett Whiteley Sydney Emotional Connection Memories Divorce
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