Courtney and Shane

Shane Jenek, better known under the stage name Courtney Act, is an Australian drag queen, singer and television personality.

I have always been drawn to Courtney’s vibrancy, fearlessness and talent. She negotiates the boundaries of gender and sexuality both in and out of drag.

During our sittings we discussed life, love, gender expression and the many permutations of queerness we’ve experienced while living and travelling overseas. It’s a beautiful thing to meet someone and feel so instantly connected and comfortable in their presence. Perhaps that connection is bound to happen between two queer people who are openly and unapologetically themselves at all times

As always, I blended realism and abstraction as a subtle vernacular to portray the fluidity and complexities of identity and sexuality.

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Born in America, Sydney-based Kim Leutwyler migrated to Australia in 2012. She works in a variety of media including painting, installation, ceramics, printmedia and drawing. Leutwyler holds concurrent bachelor degrees in Studio and Art History from Arizona State University, and additionally graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Painting and Drawing degree.Leutwyler's current body of work features paintings exploring notions of beauty, gender and queer identity. She has come to focus on painting as a medium because of its primarily masculine history in the western art canon. Her artwork has been exhibited in multiple galleries and museums throughout Australia and the United States.Some of Leutwyler's recent accolades include being selected as a finalist in the Archibald, Sulman and Black Swan Art Prizes, the Churchie national emerging art prize as well as the Portia Geach Memorial Award.