Deborah Kennedy

Artist Statement and Show Description

My artwork is conceptually based, guided by an inquiry into environmental themes. It includes book art, drawings, and installations exhibited in galleries and museums. My illustrated book, Nature Speaks: Art and Poetry for the Earth, is a recipient of six book awards, including a Silver Nautilus and the 2017 Poetry Award from the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. Currently, I am a Creative Ambassador for the City of San José. My Broadside Art and Poetry Project is fostering creativity in our community. I offer workshops where community members create ink work and short poems. I combine the two and print posters for distribution and am preparing for an exhibition of this work.

My creative process begins with essential questions. These questions lead to periods of research that inform my choice of images, materials, and methods for the final artwork. My initial questions might be: How can we confront the ongoing attack on science and reason? What new ways of thinking can help us solve our environmental problems? How can art reveal the connectivity of the web of life? My subsequent research leads me to investigate the mass extinction of animals and the power of regenerative forces. These three elements—a concern with environmental themes, a research-based creative process, and an emphasis on concept and form--define and unify my work. My art invites contemplation, dialogue, and action. 

Deborah Kennedy’s Sanctuary installation offers a quiet space for visitors to contemplate today’s ecological challenges and envision constructive responses. A sculpture at the center of the installation has remnants of trees burned in recent wildfires, a copper wire circle, and a basket filled with rice. The intricately crafted wire circle is inspired by Professor Billings’ holistic theory of our complexly connected, interdependent web of life. The sanctuary also features altered books—envisioned as a library of life. Some of the sculpted books reflect on various environmental dilemmas, including diminishing human reproductive health, the global water crisis, and the alarming declines of bees, amphibians, and birds. Other images are the holistic circle and a cosmic egg containing all the letters and numbers in our alpha-numeric system, suggesting the human intelligence and thinking needed to solve these problems.

Radiant human hearts suggest the compassion needed to care for the natural world and our children’s future. This installation balances a growing sense of loss with the hope that our empathic concern will help us embrace science, practical knowledge, and direct action to transform our society to create a healthy, thriving planet.