Kenny Pittock is equally a very funny and serious person. He has an amazing eye. Nothing is mundane or contrived to him and as a result, his art—which I interpret as pop art meets comedy—is nothing of the sort. He makes magic out of the every day, infusing his work with curiosity and a deep well of compassionate, pun-tastic humour.
I met Kenny years ago while I was volunteering at Alaska Projects. As a telling theme to that friendship, the first thing I did with Kenny the day after the exhibition was go on a city wide search through every convenience store imaginable for unusual kinds of chocolate bars. At the time, he was making ceramic sculptures recreating weird chocolate bars and their wrappers. He had seen a new one days before and was on a hunt to find it again. So yeah, it kind of been that on repeat ever since.
So over the years, whenever Kenny comes up to Sydney from Melbourne we catch up to do weird arty things. With him I've visited Ken Done's studio in the Rocks, listened to Tracey Emmin talk at the MCA, watched him earnestly and feverishly handwrite business cards to give to people and witnessed him graciously receive an award for his beautiful ceramic work.
He's odd to observe in action because he does things I am not brave enough to do. He might hate me for saying it but he makes me cringe sometimes—like the cringe you get when something socially awkward happens in a movie. But I’m always impressed because he is entirely unselfconscious and refuses to give every situation anything less than his best shot. And you know what, because of that he achieves amazing things.
We caught up to chat in April 2020, amidst all the madness around Covid-19. He gave so much to the conversation and made me laugh a lot. There's a lot in here, so stop what you are doing for a minute and go for an adventure through Kenny’s lovely, kooky, creative mind with me.
Amy: Hey mate, can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?
Kenny: Hi my name’s Kenny, I'm a 31 year old artist living in Melbourne. I also have a few other jobs including working at an art gallery, teaching ceramics at a high school and on Sundays I work at a supermarket pushing shopping trolleys, which in the last few weeks has suddenly become one of the worlds most essential jobs.
A: I am so curious to know, what did you think being an artist was when you were a little kid?
K: I think I thought being an artist just meant wearing a beret. Growing up I was constantly writing and drawing and always making things but I never thought being an artist was really a job someone could do.
I think in my head an artist was like a ye olde job from a history book or a fairy tale.
Me in the studio. Kenny Pittock. 2019 (Photo credit—Emmy Clifton)
A: So, to jump right in, how are you shaping up with the current situation in the world? How are you and those in your community in Melbourne being affected by the Covid-19 situation?
K: Art wise most things are either indefinitely postponed or just cancelled, which is hard for everyone. I guess as an artist you have to work within a constant lack of structure at the best of times, but when most of the plans you'd made for the year all disappear it's very challenging. I do still feel lucky though. The biggest setback for me is that a few days ago my Mum fell down some stairs while going for a walk. She broke her ankle in three places and needed to take an ambulance to hospital for surgery. So she was in hospital for a few days and is now home and stuck in bed for a few weeks whilst my Dad looks after her and not being able to visit them has been really tough. I’m lucky that I live with my partner though, so staying home hasn’t felt as isolating for me as it has for some others in my community.
A: During this intense period, what are some things you are doing to manage your creative practice and wellbeing
K: I’ve been working out of a home studio for a few months now, so it actually hasn't been too much of a massive shift to my routine. If I’d been commuting on public transport to a shared studio space, like I did for many years, I think I would've struggled a lot more to adjust, as being able to make work daily is a huge part of my wellbeing. I also love reading, eating gnocchi, and watching that UK TV show Dragons Den.
A: There is a sensitivity and playfulness to your works which I feel so few other artists have mastered. Your work is has a depth of consideration and exceptional skill while also being approachable and very inviting to non-arts communities. What has been the journey so far in your career in finding that voice?
K: I think finding my voice and improving my technical ability are both probably things that developed simultaneously and only strengthened through years and years of continuously making stuff.
I always remember reading an interview with Chuck Jones, the guy who created Bugs Bunny, and his theory was that everyone had 10,000 bad drawings in them, and the quicker you draw the bad ones the faster you figure out how to make better ones.
Soy Sauce for Dimmies. Kenny Pittock. 2019
A: While your practice is certainly multidisciplinary, I feel you are best known for your ceramic and sculptural works. What keeps you coming back to working in these mediums?
K: I grew up loving Gumby, and Wallace and Gromit and loved those wonky clay worlds they lived in. There's something a bit magic about ceramics.
Playing with toys as a kid was probably my first love of small sculpture and it’s a medium I keep returning too because it’s more to me than a creative outlet, it’s also an experience of nostalgia, play and I think the slowness of the medium is even somewhat meditation.
A: When we first met I was volunteering at Alaska Projects and you were part of the group show curated by Tom Polo called 'ANYTHING, EVERYTHING AND ONE OTHER THING'. The work you were showing was titled, 'Petrol Station Everyday of 2011'. Can you walk us through the process of that work and how you managed to literally take a photo of your local servo every day for a year? What were some of the challenges and unexpected aspects to this work.
K: In 2010 I had an idea to take a photo of my petrol station every day for a year. Annoyingly I had the idea on January 3rd so I waited until the following year to do it.
So in 2011 I took a photo of my local petrol station every day from January 1st to December 31st. It was a project where I created a bunch of rules just to see if I could do it, and I did it and loved doing it, but it was really stressful. One day in November I thought I had appendicitis and in the emergency room all I could think of was that if I had to have my appendix removed I wasn't going to be able to take my photo. Luckily I didn't have appendicitis, turns out I was just cramped. Anyway maybe the most unexpected thing about that work is that rather than the actual photos I took it was the anecdote about taking them that became the artwork.
A: How did winning the Emerging Artist award in the 2017 Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize affect your career? And can you tell us a little about the process for the work which won you the prize, '52 shopping lists discarded in the milk section of a supermarket'?
K: As I mentioned earlier I have a job pushing shopping trolleys at a supermarket. One aspect of the job is throwing out the abandoned shopping lists people leave in the trolleys but instead I started reading them. Shopping lists can function both as poems and portraits, and because they're completely context free I'll often spend my shift wondering about the people who had written them and what meals they were planning. I started collecting the shopping lists I'd find and my collection has grown over the years to around 6,000. And because I had so many in the studio and I found them so interesting I ended up making a work where I meticulously replicated a series of them out of clay. I was so thrilled and honoured when that work won the Redlands Emerging Artist prize.
Maybe my favourite part of it was there was an article about it in Vogue Living magazine and it was such a career highlight to be able to show the article to the people I work with at the supermarket. I remember it clearly though because everyone was very impressed, but then another person I work with pulled out his phone and showed us a video of him doing a backflip on his bike and everyone was much more impressed with that. Then we all just got back to work.
52 shopping lists discarded in the milk section of a supermarket. Redlands Install. Kenny Pittock. 2017
A: When you think back on all the projects you have worked on, which one stands out amongst the rest? Can you tell us a little about the process of this project and what you learnt from it?
K: Years ago I wrote a poem and my musician friend Nelson turned it into a song and we then made a music video for it. I learnt from that experience how amazing it can be to collaborate with people who have a whole different set of skills to yours.
More recently I made a big ceramic sculpture of a basket filled with eggs, the work was meant to be about how it can sometimes feel to be an artist, and it was called "All My Eggs In One Basket". When I was making this work I had a row of my egg sculptures drying outside my studio, and when I went to check on them I noticed they were scattered around the ground and had tiny claw marks in them. I realised a bird had mistaken them for real eggs and tried to take off with them. I think having a bird think my ceramic eggs were real eggs was a probably the biggest compliment my work has ever gotten.
All my eggs in one basket. Kenny Pittock. 2015
A: Other than the one's we have been chatting about, can you tell us about a life experience that really shifted or redirected your perspective in general which then went on to inform your creative work?
K: When I was 20, I had major spine reconstruction surgery and so spent a year in bed recovering. I learned a huge amount about myself during that time but on a more practical level I made a lot of drawings, as that was the only work I could really do from bed.
It meant I definitely improved a lot technically, but I think having that year where I was physically and mentally unable to make sculpture or paint, or do much at all, probably made me extremely driven and productive in the years after.
A: Who are the mentors you draw inspiration from for where you're going creatively and professionally?
K: I draw inspiration from most of my friends and family. Right now I probably draw the most inspiration from my partner Emmy, she's studying filmmaking and has a great eye. I bounce a lot of ideas off her and trust her opinion. She can be tough to impress, so when she likes an idea I know I'm onto something. That said, a lot of the time when she doesn't like something I still make it anyway. But she's mostly right. When I was in uni I had some great mentors too. Lisa Radford was my painting teacher for many years at art school, she was the Yoda to my Luke.
Chicken salt, salt lamp, chicken salt lamp. Kenny Pittock. 2019
A: What's one piece of advice you received that really helped you creatively or with your career as a creative?
K: When I was in high school I read a health book written by the actor Sylvester Stalone and the only thing I remember from it is he said you should drink a big glass of water first thing in the morning. For some reason it stuck and now that's how I start every day.
I'm not sure if that's directly helped my creative life but it means every morning I do that and I feel like my day is off to a good start, which is a good feeling. Art wise, I once heard someone describe Bob Dylans lyrics as having “one eye on the times and one eye on the timeless” and I think about that a lot.
A: And finally, what is something that is bringing you a sense of joy right now?
K: Apparently the people who make Bubble'O Bill's have just released a new ice-cream, it's Bill's sister, Bubble'O Jill. Supposedly they're out now but I haven't seen one in real life yet. Every time I get petrol or groceries I always look for Jill as I'm hoping to make a sculpture of one. I've made a few Bubble'O Bill sculptures over the years and am very excited to now sculpt the extended Bubble'O family.
Bubble'O Bill. Acrylic on ceramic and wood. Kenny Pittock. 2013
Wow! My ribs are a little sore. Huge thanks to Kenny for bringing so much to this conversation. I think I’ll probably start my day with a glass of water. If it’s good enough for you and Sly, it’s good enough for me. Now, if you’re keen to keep smiling and curious to keep up with what Kenny is up to, you can check out his website and follow him on instagram now.
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