During his studies, he had two solo exhibitions hosted at his college's art gallery as part of his postgraduate work – whitefella normal blackfella me in 2000 and con Text in 2007.

[1][7] While Ah Kee incorporates a broad range of different art mediums, from life drawings to video installations, a consistent theme across all of his artworks is his examination of racism in Australia.

It has been suggested that the black and white text introduces the concept of racial relations in Australia[10] and that the word play makes the audience think more deeply on the issues represented.

[20] Ah Kee explained that Wotton's actions during the Palm Island Riots led to him being negatively misrepresented in the media, and the artist decided that "Lex should look bold and brave" in his portrait.

[21] Ah Kee has used video installation art, most notably in his exhibition Tall Man, to create confronting reflections of Australian racism.

[23][24] The installation played across four screens and juxtaposed a peaceful representation of Palm Island with the chaos of the riots, concluding with footage of protesters holding up signs with Christian-related statements such as "Thou shalt not covet the land no more".

[26][27] His recent work, the island, also features a video installation, in which Ah Kee highlights Australia's "brutal" immigration system through the recounting of an Afghan refugee couple's story, rather than wholly focusing on the experiences of Indigenous Australians.

[13][20][11][32] His Tall Man exhibition, a video and text installation of the Palm Island Riots, was called a "smartly composed yet painful examination of racial relations in Australia" by Art Asia Pacific Magazine.

[23] Art critic and broadcaster Andrew Frost reviewed some of Ah Kee's works at the Sydney Festival and quotes the artist: "this is not history, this is my life" and "this is not political, it's personal".

Frost gave particular praise for the artist's charcoal drawings of his family, the form referencing the documentation of Indigenous peoples by 20th century anthropologists, finding that Ah Kee was personalising a traditionally impersonal genre.

Unlike Frost, Brooks determined the inclusion of the Yuendumu doors to be "a powerful statement about the continuity of Indigenous sovereignty in this country", especially in their juxtaposition with the Walpiri Dreamtime paintings.

[33] In 2012, Ah Kee was a finalist for the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Archibald Prize with his portrait I see deadly people: Lex Wotton.

[34] In 2014, the A$25,000 Redlands Konika Minolta established artist prize was awarded to Ah Kee for his charcoal rendition of Lex Wotton.

[36][37] In 2010 Ah Kee was also featured in the ABC Arts documentary "Not A Willing Participant" directed by Alex Barnes and Produced by Justin Morrissey, which followed his exhibition at the 2009 Venice Biennale.

[35] His exhibitions include:[5][8][33] Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia, In 2010 Vernon Ah Kee was interviewed in a digital story and oral history for the State Library of Queensland's James C Sourris AM Collection.