Artist field note

Brett Whiteley

A line can turn a room, a body and a harbour into the same living shape.

Appears inOceania

01 / 05

Woman in bath

1963

A body bends into the curves of the bath. The line matters as much as the anatomy; flesh and enclosure begin to share one shape.

The five in one idea

Whiteley made the places he inhabited feel inseparable from the movement of his hand: the harbour, the room and the body share a restless line. Sources: Art Gallery of NSW, Woman in bath (1963), collection art trail; Brett Whiteley Alchemy exhibition (2002); 9 Shades of Whiteley (2006); Self and Identity education resource. Heritage NSW, Brett Whiteley Blue Plaque, for The jacaranda tree (1977). See source links at the end of the UK chapter.