Spirit Animal Art
/
Solo Exhibition
/
2012
South Of The River
Client:
Harmony, Inc.
Creative Director:
Elvis Bennet
Art Director:
Joseph Lewis
Year
2023
South Of The River’ tells the story of Kevin’s year-long experience living abroad. As a progression from the innocent, playful spirit of Kevin’s last body of work ‘Strobe’, the artworks in ‘South Of The River’ are imbued with sombre, occasionally dark undertones and a sense of maturity and growth.
Memories of significant people, places and events are personified through a new cast of creatures and characters. Touching on themes of displacement, seasonal metamorphosis and self-discovery, the new works are abstracted re-imaginings echoing the artist’s underlying narrative of pivotal experiences and reflective insights.
Since I was a kid, it had always been my dream to live abroad. I loved the idea of an adventure where I could explore the world so on my 26th birthday, I bought myself a one way ticket to London.
I left Sydney in the peak of summer on a 46 degree day. After a stressful car ride to the airport, some tough goodbyes with my nearest and dearest and a heavy 28 hour flight, I found myself in cold, gloomy Londontown
Story
My train commute from the airport into London's CBD was pretty surreal. People crammed like sardines inside, trees and buildings blanketed in snow outside. An hour or so later, I was staring down a funny looking row of townhouses called Toussaint Walk.
I had been lucky to snap up a free room in Bermondsey, a suburb on the outskirts of central London just south of the river Thames. Inside, the house was surprisingly cosy but my room upstairs was filthy, littered with makeup powder and empty medicine bags. I remember thinking this last tenant was a grub. A few weeks later, I found out the property had been drug raided and that's why the room was vacant
Story
I was eager to venture out and explore London but it was early February and the winter gods were out in full force. Despite having every intention to peruse the city streets, I was more preoccupied with staying warm, avoiding puddles and awkwardly battling windswept rain behind my ratty umbrella. After three weeks of fruitless expeditions, my patience to contend with these hostile forces wore thin and I found myself housebound with nothing to do.
I had 2 months up my sleeve before I would need to find a job so I decided to indulge in some painting. It had been 3 years since I had put paint to paper. Without much thought, I decided to document what I saw around me. In particular, I noticed the dirty red brickwork that characterised many of the townhouses around Bermondsey, the rich burgundy roof tiles of the public housing estates across the road and of course, endless slabs of concrete grey. These early observations became the colour palette for South Of The River
I would wait until midnight when my housemates went to bed and transform the downstairs living room into a makeshift studio. It was peaceful at night, the perfect time to relax my mind and start building my paintings
Artwork Info
'Winter Fox'
2014
635 x 850 mm
Story
It was a harsh winter. Nights were long, days were grim and icy wind howled with malicious intent. I spent most of my time indoors painting so it was slightly surreal when I stumbled across my first London fox.
At first I found him scavenging for food by the bins behind my house. Then I would catch him skulking around the shed in the early hours or trotting down the street patrolling the block perimeter. It was strange to think that this fox had strayed so far from the wilderness to end up roaming the surly streets of south London.
'Winter Fox' is about displacement and disorientation in a cold and uninviting landscape.
Artwork Info
'The Great Suffolk'
2014
1480 x 870 mm
Story
My Austrian snow adventure ended all too soon. Next thing I knew, I was back in the thick of dreary London, a city strangely filled with emptiness. Parades of walking coats plodding down the streets, hidden and faceless under umbrella masks. I retreated back to my studio hibernation.
A few weeks later, I was keen to celebrate my first birthday abroad so I mustered a group of 12 friends together for a dance party at The Great Suffolk warehouse in Southwark. There was an air of restlessness and anticipation that night. After a forgettable train trip, we found ourselves standing underneath a railway bridge with the deep grumble of muffled bass lines humming under our feet. We were ushered down a dark passageway and led to the mouth of a cavernous archway roaring with sound. The walls were dripping from the sea of sweaty bodies moving in hypnotic syncopation and the ceiling was set ablaze with a kaleidoscope of fragmenting colours and light. Outside it was a wintry ghost town but deep underground, there was warmth, music and life.
My recollection of The Great Suffolk takes the form of a mother owl; her wingspan echoing the booming arches of these abandoned railway tunnels.
Story
It was June now and I was still painting on the floor of my living room every night. I wasn’t eating or sleeping properly and the daily grind was taking its toll on my body, even friends were coming over and cooking me food to make sure I was fed properly (thanks Anneliese!). To add to this, I had been unemployed for 4 months and my bank balance was making me nervous.
I knew getting a 9-5 job would break my flow so I was set on finishing off the 30-odd paintings I had started before looking for work. It was pretty intense thinking back on it but at the time, I was swept up in my romanticized childhood dream of a starving artist living abroad, barely making ends meet but living day-to-day bringing new paintings to life
Artwork Info
'Bermondsey Red'
2014
1350 x 1100 mm
Story
By September, I had 30 incomplete paintings lying around my house and the finish line seemed nowhere in sight. Some days I was just pushing colours around aimlessly so I started doubting if they were worth all the effort. Eventually, I conceded defeat, packed away my paints and hid everything under my bed.
My mum used to call me her little fire tiger. It’s my Chinese zodiac element and animal. As a kid, I had always liked the idea of being called a fire tiger; it seemed to resonate with my over-abundant energy and impulsive behaviour. ‘Bermondsey Red’ is a self-portrait of this time: a mirror reflecting a tired, timid and dejected tiger stagnant under a blizzard of uncertainty
Opening Night
By September, I had 30 incomplete paintings lying around my house and the finish line seemed nowhere in sight. Some days I was just pushing colours around aimlessly so I started doubting if they were worth all the effort. Eventually, I conceded defeat, packed away my paints and hid everything under my bed.
My mum used to call me her little fire tiger. It’s my Chinese zodiac element and animal. As a kid, I had always liked the idea of being called a fire tiger; it seemed to resonate with my over-abundant energy and impulsive behaviour. ‘Bermondsey Red’ is a self-portrait of this time: a mirror reflecting a tired, timid and dejected tiger stagnant under a blizzard of uncertainty
Story
Artwork Info
'The Grass Is Greener In Bampton'
2014
635 x 850 mm
Story
And there we were, an unexpected group of gypsies and misfits speeding through the English countryside. Sun-drenched hills and the most brilliant green I had ever seen.
Artwork Info
'Above The Thames'
2014
635 x 860 mm
Story
My first summer in London was magic.
I remember the clear blue skies, the unexpected 30-degree days and the lively pubs bursting with noise and laughter spilling out onto the streets. Sometimes I think back to the sun-drenched parks: a multicoloured patchwork of people lying on the grass soaking in the sunshine, barbeque smoke rising and summer tunes wafting in from over the horizon. Other times, I’ll remember burrowing through the crowds of tourists as they circle street performers down at Southbank on a perfect Sunday afternoon, turning it into a runway of foreign accents clumsily bumping into one another.
The nights were warm and after work, I would make my way home over Waterloo Bridge transfixed by the ominous blue dome of St Paul’s Cathedral on my left, the lucid neon London Eye towering on my right and Big Ben’s warm glow just a stone’s throw away. Then there were the hundreds of waterside streetlamps lighting up the Thames, slicing it into countless shards of blue, indigo and orange. I remember the water was on fire, waves like flames, dancing and hypnotic.
Artwork Info
'Big Red'
2014
1140 x 860 mm
Story
Spending 7 days snowboarding in the mountains of Austria was pure bliss. Every morning, my roommates Nic and Calvin would try wake me up for the early shuttle bus to the ski resort. Eventually I would give in to their nagging and we'd make our way up the mountain, explore acres of stunning terrain, eat hearty Viennese meals and then at dusk, sink a few beers before chasing the sunset back down over the horizon.
This artwork is a tribute to the legendary Hartkaiserbahn run a.k.a. Big Red. Carving down Big Red alongside Nic and Calvin was the highlight of this trip
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