The Bendigo Art Gallery has secured access to hundreds of items from the personal connection of Frida Kahlo for its latest exhibition. The gallery obtained rare permission to bring the items to Australia from Mexico City, in the hope it will reveal something of the complex and tumultuous life of the artist.
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00:00You'd know her face, but how much do you really know about Frida Kahlo?
00:07She was an artist in the whole meaning of the word because everything for her was an
00:13opportunity to express herself.
00:16To help build an understanding of the Mexican artist, a collection of Kahlo's personal belongings
00:21have been packed with care and shipped to Bendigo Art Gallery all the way from her childhood
00:27home.
00:28It was very challenging, all the packing process, to share a little bit of the Blue House here
00:35in Bendigo.
00:37Over the last few weeks, staff have spent hours unpacking and carefully preparing hundreds
00:42of items for display.
00:44It's a coup for the Bendigo Art Gallery as it's rare for these pieces to leave Kahlo's
00:49home, let alone Mexico.
00:51This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, they're fragile, they're Mexican national
00:55treasures, they will never be back in this country within our lifetime.
01:00The exhibit includes hand-woven garments, the sleeves of which are still coloured in
01:05paint and cigarette burns.
01:07Frida was a woman who was ahead of her time, who was already dealing with her experiences
01:14of disability, her ethnicity, her gender identity and her political views expressed through
01:22her garments.
01:24These traditional Mexican skirts are part of Frida Kahlo's signature look and also
01:28hid the fact that she had one leg shorter than the other due to childhood polio.
01:34In fact, it's that mix of her appearance with her personal life and her art that's one aspect
01:39of her enduring appeal.
01:41Well, I think that this exhibition allows you to know Frida in a different way, in a
01:47deep way.
01:48Getting to know the person behind the face with the flower crown.