over the moon

NOT ONE TO BE PIGEON-HOLED, ARTIST JOHN KENNEDY’S WORK SPANS ABSTRACT SELF-PORTRAITS AND IMAGINATIVE STYLES TO LANDSCAPES AND MINIATURES. BUT IT IS JOHN’S INVITATION TO JOIN THE ‘ARTISTS ON THE MOON’ LUNAR CODEX PROJECT THAT WILL TAKE HIS WORKS TO THE GLOBE AND BEYOND

Words Kate O’Mealley

For over 30 years, West Wollongong’s John Kennedy has been refining his art – a diverse combination of paintings, illustrations and highly-detailed drawings. John has been drawing since childhood and, in primary school, often used art as an outlet when traditional lessons didn't ‘speak’ to him. “Art has always been there, but it was in the background. My brothers and I would draw together but we never perceived ourselves as artists,” says John.“In primary school, I didn't engage in many of the subjects that were being taught, preferring to daydream. It took one teacher in Year 3 who saw where my interest was based and allowed me to have time to explore art, starting with collage. In high school, I met a friend who was an incredible artist – and I had that feeling that nothing made more sense, that art was it.”

Not defined by any one style, it is his imagination that is the common thread between his works.“I don’t say it’s ‘surrealist’ because it just designates it to one area and that’s not really my work,” he says.“I do love to improvise and see where it goes, rather than have a content-based idea in mind. My drawings, especially in high school, were always driven by my imagination. I would wake up at 5am every day, open up the sketch book, and I remember I'd be looking at the blank sheet of paper wondering what to do. I kept doing it each morning until the images started to appear. In a way, that approach has never left me.”

After school, John studied at West Wollongong TAFE and the University of Wollongong extending his skills beyond paper and pen, exploring other mediums and learning art theory that he now shares with his own art students.

“AtTAFE, I was fortunate to be under the wing of an abstract expressionist, Ron Lambert. During those years, I was able to improve [my technique] because abstract expressions suited what I was already doing,” John says.“But with painting, it took me a while to understand and learn how to use the materials. In many ways, painting is an extension to the drawing medium.”

John’s latest project is a series of miniature paintings, including portraits and landscapes, a style made famous in the pre-photography era. Created on a tiny 5cm circular surface, the attention to detail is extraordinary, with layer upon layer of stories merged and hidden in each image.

“My focus at the moment is the miniatures, I love honing in on a small scale. The advantage is that I can contain the diversity within that limitation of scale and format. The circular shape is like an eye viewpoint – it forces a one-onone dialogue with the viewer, it becomes a very personalised thing,” says John. “There is a long history of miniature painting in many cultures and was popular pre-photography. Artists would do portraits of people… it was something that someone could actually hold with them. I don't do it in an absolute traditionalist manner, where it might have been painted on ivory, but working on very, very small scale allows me to produce more, stay interested and to exhibit those to a wider audience.”

An even wider audience is on the horizon for John, when his artwork is included in the ‘Artists on the Moon’ time capsule in June.The worldwide project, calledThe Lunar Codex, is a collection of artworks, including visual art, contemporary books, poetry, films and essays that will be placed on the moon in partnership with NASA.The works will be permanently left on the moon with hopes that “future travellers who find this capsule will discover some of the richness of our world today,” said

Dr Samuel Peralta, creator ofThe Lunar Codex. “These works on the moon speak to the idea that, despite wars and pandemics and climate upheaval, humankind found time to dream, and time to create art.”

“It’s been a surreal experience and a coincidence as to how I became involved. Back in 2016, I uploaded a drawing called The Wastelands and it was selected by curator Steven DaLuz to be included in a feature of ‘100 Great Drawings’ for PoetsArtists magazine, a major publication in the US,” explains John.“Years later, Dr Peralta came across the PoetsArtists magazine and my work. It was in March last year when I was at a cafe and got the message,‘Congratulations, your work has been selected to go to the moon’. I thought it was a joke.”

Not one, but two, trips to the moon are planned for John’s work, with his artwork included in upcoming launches over the next year. Peregine Mission 1 launches in mid-2022 containing the ‘100 Great Drawings’ collection, followed by the Griffin Mission 1 launch in 2023 containing footage of Graeme Stevenson's Colour In Your Life documentary series featuring John and hundreds of other artists. ¡

“Congratulations, your work has been selected to go to the moon”