Artist statement
Bridget Kennedy (b. 1970 Voorburg, Netherlands) is a compulsive organiser. She uses systemisation as a survival tactic, as a means of creating a little quietness amidst the clamor of modern life. She lives on the outskirts of a small village in the North of England. Whilst seeking out wildness and wilderness through interaction with nature she succumbs to the ever present desire to tame and control. She sees herself as a librarian of the landscape, constantly cataloguing. A fascination with maps brings together her two main interests: landscape and the translation of information. Looking is an activity that is under constant scrutiny in Kennedy's practice, with regard to cartography she is intrigued by the leap of imagination that a map-reader undergoes in order to understand a three dimensional environment when looking at a set of symbols on a piece of paper. She expects her viewers to work together with her on their relationship with her pieces, giving clues in titles such as "Trying to understand the creation of the universe with beads and wire" and "Every letter is a number, every number is a colour (creation myths one and two)". There are two main strands to her practice, one is studio based and one is work made in response to place. She uses drawing, sculpture, photography and moving image in conjunction with the study of historical, critical and literary texts to aid her research and sustain her practice. In recent studio based work she has been re-coding texts and images that relate to landscape then meticulously hand replicating this information to create complex drawings and sculptures. Cool and impersonal at first glance these works expose a very human fragility on closer inspection. Imperfections resulting from the hand-made, homespun and irrational character of the romantic subtly compete with the rigid framework.
Qualifications and training
- 2007 Masters of Fine Art, AHRC funded, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow
- 2006 exchange student, Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam (more info)
- 1994 Stained Glass Apprenticeship, Vetrate Artistiche Toscane, Siena, Italy
- 1993 NVQ Welding, Lloyds British, Low Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne
- 1992 BA Hons, Fine Art (Sculpture), University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Employment
- 2009 part time studio tutor, Fine Art Department, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Solo exhibitions
- 2012 Black Middens Project, Bellingham Heritage Centre, Bellingham
- 2011 Bridget Kennedy Recent Works, The Board Room, Incubator, NETPark, Co Durham
- 2008 Landline (Pantone coated), Veggverk, Akureyri, Iceland
- 2007 "I can still feel the wind in my hair", Emerged, 54 Bell Street, Glasgow (more info)
- 2006 "Every Day I Will Live", Barnes Flat Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow
- 1999 From NY848467 to NY863454, ACA (Allenheads Contemporary Arts), The Old School House, Allenheads
- 1998 Observations, Hancock Museum, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 1995 Zaira, Design Works, Felling, Newcastle upon Tyne
Group exhibitions
- 2012 Happy Yesterday, Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, Powys, Mid Wales
- 2012 Geological Etiquette, Mining Institute, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 2011 Scientific Stranger II, MOMA Wales and CAT, Wales
- 2011 Scientific Stranger, Heritage Open Day Event, Blacksmith's, Allenheads
- 2011 In a Constant State of Flux, 151 Sidney Grove, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 2011 Pop Up Cinema, Eden Arts, Penrith
- 2010 We all own the Mona Lisa, New Bridge Street Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 2010 Northern Soil, ACA Shop, Allenheads
- 2010 So what's different today?, Globe Gallery, North Shields
- 2009 Triparks, Dovetail, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 2009 "(...)", Gallerie Omphalos, Terlizzi, Bari, Italy
- 2009 Artland, various venues, Bishop Auckland, Co Durham
- 2008 The Great Purpose, Mile End Park Pavilion, London
- 2008 More Than Yesterday, Globe City, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- 2007 FRED 07, FRED / Fold Gallery, outdoor interventions in Cumbria
- 2007 "Further More", Tramway, Glasgow (more info)
- 2007 Multiplicity, In House, Edinburgh
- 2007 Loch Long, Bluttenweisse, Berlin (more info)
- 2006 "Parasite", Gallery Blaak 10, Rotterdam (more info)
- 2006 Members Show, Transmission, Glasgow
- 2006 "Kunstvlaai 6", Westergasfabriekterrein, Amsterdam
- 2003 Contraflow, The Pentagon Centre, Glasgow
- 1999 Run Rabbit Run, ACA, Allenheads + Waygood Gallery Newcastle, two centre exhibition (rural / urban)
Residencies
- 2011 Utopian Realism, Centre For Alternative Technology, Wales
- 2008 Triparks, Allenheads Contemporary Arts and Aunehead Arts, Northumberland National Park
- 2006 student residency, Cove Park, Argyll and Bute
Public commissions
- 2001 soft play, Commissions North, West Chevington Family Centre
Projects
- 1999 Fathom Five, collaborative events at various venues, North East
Competitions, prizes and awards
- 2011 Funding for Utopian Realism from Awards for All, Arts Council England, England
- 2009 Black Middens Project, VARC project fund, Tarset, Northumberland
