| Artist Profile of Sheridan Kennedy |
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Combining a fascination for kinetic devices with the sensual qualities of the decorative, my work explores the seductive interaction between jewellery and observer/wearer, experimenting with the ways in which we see and experience objects.
Elaborating on the art of 'dressing-up', the jewellery plays with the extravagant gestures of costume and fashion. In contrast, my preoccupation with kinetic devices and articulated mechanisms show the influence of structural engineering. In this way the work explores correlations between the natural and invented, between the organic and the mechanical.
Exotic sea creatures, curious insects and 18th century voyages of discovery, the lavish decoration of Hindu Gods, monumental architecture and industrial decoration from the 19th century are some specific visual influences. However inspiration can also be simply an object glimpsed on the street that 'pretends' to be something it isn't, setting in motion a series of new ideas.
And the qualities of certain materials can lead me on little journeys of exploration, feathers suggest the forms of insects, rough-cut gemstones contain miniature worlds.
Much of my appreciation for the character of natural materials comes from a childhood spent in the remote landscape of western Queensland. Inspiration is also sourced from the ancient sciences of phenomenology and etymology.
Exploring the future possibilities for jewellery is an ongoing theme; much of my work plays with the idea of re-forming functionality, where the concept of utilitarian becomes much more multi dimensional.
The jewel's role of preciousness is just as important, since certain materials and forms have an intrinsic energy and wearing invests an object with personal significance. This idea is as old as jewellery itself and I see this as one element in a conspiracy and collusion that exists between our bodies and the objects we wear.
Sheridan Kennedy, 2007.
Sheridan Kennedy is a Sydney based artist.
Please contact the gallery for further information on available work.
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Selected works of Sheridan Kennedy
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