PROJECT Wanita
richer, messier and more interesting than a mere fairytalE
My mission is to tell a version of how I see Wanita and I’m doing that by making a painting of her. I will enter it into the 2023 Archibald and I’ll also tell you how I met her and why I am drawn to her. In the meantime dont miss spoiling yourself and watching, I’m Wanita WATCH THE TAILER then WATCH THE FILM about Australia’s Queen of Honky Tonk. Like me, you will fall in love.
Watching the doco I’m Wanita for the fifth time while in Nashville withe my brother, Luke.
Me in Nashville International Airport in early 2022, standing in the exact spot where Wanita sang to cheer up a passerby. SEE THE FILM
December 2022, Wanita is one of the formidable subjects in the Formidable Female Project at the Judith Wright Contemporary Arts Centre. The project is by Chrysalis and MICAH PROJECTS.She holds up a limited edition t-towel by Mona Ryder.
My research diary on Wanita Bahtiyar.
A rare look at autism during adulthood / You can’t tell a bullshit story about Wanita /Fun and scary at the same time / Free spirit / A life lived on the edge / Funded the trip to Nashville through sex work / Binge drinker, monumental genius, drinker, saint, drunken mother, purist, sex worker, complicated, maverick, trouble, misfit, artist, swing’n, honky tonk queen / intoxicating, joyfully so/ Torrid mood swings /monumental stage presence, renegade country music singer, colourful, crass and obsessed, all time greatest, outlandish music personality, obsessive, generous, present, attracts drama, off the tracks, damaged, proud, self-centered, utterly unpredictable, trouble. She sings amongst the people she sings about / A down-to-earth legend /Alive with vitality, thriving with importance / Spine tingling stuff /Heart of the Queen (pilot documentary)/ Free spirit - a life lived on the edge/ No one understands her/ Spontaneous performances/ purist, honest lyrics and unique voice /Self crowned, subculture.