• N.Smith Gallery presents Kyra Mancktelow’s solo exhibition: Unconstitutional Love which centres around a family wedding dress that pays tribute to...

    N.Smith Gallery presents Kyra Mancktelow’s solo exhibition: Unconstitutional Love which centres around a family wedding dress that pays tribute to Kyra’s ancestors. Through this central work, Kyra continues to examine the historical significance of garments in Australia, using them to highlight the lasting effects of colonisation.

     

    Through the materiality of garments, Kyra weaves the story of colonial assimilation in clothing. Featuring her woven textiles, bronze dillybags, and unique print works, Unconstitutional Love continues her exploration into cultural resilience and clothing as a tool of oppression against - and a means of survival for Indigenous Australians.

     

    We warmly invite you to the opening of Kyra Mancktelow’s solo exhibition: Unconstitutional Love at N.Smith Gallery, 15 Foster Street, Surry Hills, 3 April 6-8pm. No RSVP required. 

  • Kyra Mancktelow Unconstitutional Love, 2025 Quandamooka traditional weave, woven from natural fibres⁠ 160 x 110 x 70 cm
    Kyra Mancktelow
    Unconstitutional Love, 2025
    Quandamooka traditional weave, woven from natural fibres⁠
    160 x 110 x 70 cm
  • Kyra Mancktelow UNJUST, 2023-24 earthenware on foam board dimensions variable each letter approx 20 x 20 cm
    Kyra Mancktelow
    UNJUST, 2023-24
    earthenware on foam board
    dimensions variable
    each letter approx 20 x 20 cm
    • Kyra Mancktelow Untitled (Y2004II), 2022 ink impression on Hahnemühle paper 155.5 x 95.5 cm
      Kyra Mancktelow
      Untitled (Y2004II), 2022
      ink impression on Hahnemühle paper
      155.5 x 95.5 cm
    • Kyra Mancktelow Mrs (Unconstitutional Love), 2024 unique ink impression 202 x 125 cm
      Kyra Mancktelow
      Mrs (Unconstitutional Love), 2024
      unique ink impression
      202 x 125 cm
    • Kyra Mancktelow Untitled (Y2806I), 2022 ink impression on Hahnemühle paper 120 x 40 cm
      Kyra Mancktelow
      Untitled (Y2806I), 2022
      ink impression on Hahnemühle paper
      120 x 40 cm
  • Kyra Mancktelow No Blak in the Union Jack, 2023 ink transfer on Hahnemühle paper 80 x 120 cm / 95...
    Kyra Mancktelow
    No Blak in the Union Jack, 2023
    ink transfer on Hahnemühle paper
    80 x 120 cm / 95 x 136.5 cm
    • Kyra Mancktelow Gubagulabu (Y1805), 2022 unique bronze sculpture 56 x 37 x 31 cm
      Kyra Mancktelow
      Gubagulabu (Y1805), 2022
      unique bronze sculpture
      56 x 37 x 31 cm
    • Kyra Mancktelow Gubagulabu (Y1205), 2022 unique bronze sculpture 24 x 29 x 22 cm
      Kyra Mancktelow
      Gubagulabu (Y1205), 2022
      unique bronze sculpture
      24 x 29 x 22 cm
    • Kyra Mancktelow Gubagulabu (Y1705), 2022 unique bronze sculpture with ochre patina 54 x 22 x 12 cm
      Kyra Mancktelow
      Gubagulabu (Y1705), 2022
      unique bronze sculpture with ochre patina
      54 x 22 x 12 cm
    • Kyra Mancktelow Gubagulabu (Y1105), 2022 unique bronze sculpture 25 x 22 x 18 cm
      Kyra Mancktelow
      Gubagulabu (Y1105), 2022
      unique bronze sculpture
      25 x 22 x 18 cm
  • Unconstitutional Love.

    By N.Smith

     

    At the heart of Kyra Mancktelow’s new exhibition, Unconstitutional Love, stands a wedding dress: a powerful symbol of union, devotion, and tradition. As a garment imbued with generations of  cultural significance Mancktelow challenges us to look beyond the surface, urging us to consider the deeper histories woven into the fabric of this seemingly familiar form.

     

    As a stark reminder of the enduring legacy of colonial control over First Nations lives, Indigenous Australians could only marry with government permission up until the 1960s. Through textiles, prints, and sculptural interventions, Mancktelow extends her inquiry into the historical significance of garments in Australia, interrogating how fabric and fashion function as both instruments of oppression and markers of resilience. In Unconstitutional Love, the wedding dress is not merely an object; it is a statement – a reclamation of agency in culture and identity. Carefully adapting traditional materials and techniques, Kyra’s works assert the continuation of Indigenous knowledge and sovereignty, an act of resistance against historical erasure. 

     

    Foregrounding the ways in which colonial policies regulate and redefine Indigenous existence, often under the guise of benevolence. The governmental interference of marriage for Indigenous Australians was not just an administrative act but a mechanism of control, an assertion of power over the most personal aspects of life. Mancktelow’s work compels us to consider the long-lasting emotional and cultural consequences of these policies. How do we remember these histories? How do we acknowledge the strength of those who resisted? How do we ensure that love remains an ungoverned, sovereign force?

     

    Kyra Mancktelow critically deconstructs how colonial law entangles with Indigenous Australian sovereignty in Australian history.Her approach is deeply personal yet universally resonant in its themes of love and the acknowledgement of marital union. Her textiles and prints bear the weight of history, yet draw upon the enduring strength of Indigenous kinship and cultural survival. Unconstitutional Love is an act of remembering and honouring, but also one of transformation: of pain into power, of restriction into reclamation. The exhibition invites us to bear witness to these stories, to reflect on the intersections of history and identity, considering the ways in which past injustices continue to shape the present.

     

    With this work, Mancktelow honours her family, whose experiences of love were constrained by the oppressive structures of colonial governance. 

  • Bio.

    Bio.

    ‘Any history to do with Australia I consider haunting.’

    Kyra Mancktelow’s multidisciplinary practice investigates legacies of colonialism, posing important questions such as how we remember and acknowledge Indigenous histories.

     

    A Quandamooka artist with links to the Mardigan people of Cunnamulla, Kyra’s practice includes printmaking, ceramics, and sculpture – each applying a unique and distinct aesthetic. Kyra works with various materials to share her rich heritage, stories, and traditions to educate audiences and strengthen her connection to Country. Her printmaking explores intergenerational trauma as a result of forced integration on colonial missions, and her use of local materials in her sculpture, including clay, emu features, and Talwalpin (cotton tree), strengthens her connection to Country.

     

    Currently undertaking a PhD at Queensland College of Art, Kyra regularly exhibits in both solo and group exhibitions nation wide. Kyra won the 2021 Telstra Emerging Artist Award at The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, and a Special Commendation at the 2021 Churchie National Emerging Art Prize.

     

    Request available works / Join Kyra's preview list.