00:02Courtney, it's behind you!
00:04Oh! Oh wow!
00:09Bedazzled and larger than life.
00:11A fitting tribute to a queer icon.
00:14I sent Paul a bag of my old fingernails and eyelashes and broken jewellery
00:19and so I knew that it was going to be made of found objects and mixed media
00:23but to see it hanging on the wall is absolutely amazing.
00:26Drag detritus, part of an eclectic mosaic of thousands
00:30of items. The phone that I texted my
00:34parents I am gay on.
00:38Assembled by artist Paul Yaw. At different times I did
00:42hear Courtney's voice in my head, being like, Oi, what are you doing?
00:46Why are you putting that there? Get that off my face.
00:50The artwork took about a year to make, with each object
00:54meticulously placed with a pair of tweezers.
00:57It's definitely a portrait to be appreciated
00:59up close.
01:01Courtney Act has spent more than two decades
01:03in the public eye, as an internationally
01:06celebrated drag performer,
01:08advocate and TV star.
01:10Certainly as a queer person, to know that in 2026
01:14this portrait is hanging on the walls of a national institution
01:18is really, really cool.
01:21It's now the first work you see when you walk into the gallery.
01:25They say that you should always open with a strong number.
01:29A glittering homage to someone who's always brought
01:32her own sparkle.
01:34a glittering homage to someone who's always brought
01:36We've got people to watch phones are
01:36you're getting pixels.
