Kevin’s paintings evoke all of these feelings, but also much more. Upon closer inspection, elements of the subject matter that are familiar to us are not quite as they seem. Horizon lines shift, mountain tops and trees are inverted, skies meld with seas, built structures slip away into oblivion. Pictorial elements are brought together in ways that disrupt our initial comprehension of what we are looking at - a full clothesline draped in front of a mountain range, pumpkins displayed on a shelf with no other man-made elements in sight, a tradesperson upon a ladder in an underground train station in the top left corner of a landscape where the sky “should” be. Although Kevin composes his paintings from fragments of real-world imagery taken during his global travels, they are assembled in a way which results in compositions that are gently but deliberately disorientating.

As Kevin explains, ‘One of the first questions I commonly get asked about any painting is, 'Where is this?' One part of the painting might suggest a certain part of the world, whereas another might have strong cultural references from elsewhere. I intentionally bring these conflicting elements together to allude to the complex way we piece together our understanding of where we are in consciousness. Then I'll also throw in elements that are quite changed from the original source image, often regarding colour – as well as sections that are just pure paintwork that make direct reference to the constructed nature of the image. So ultimately, these are places that only truly exist in the imagination.’

The resulting paintings are reminiscent of dreams, where moments of our lives and experiences are brought together in complex, nuanced and sometimes fantastical ways that can confront and fascinate us. In some paintings, figures are present, and one cannot help but wonder if they know where they are or understand their predicament within the non-sensical landscape they are immersed in. This reflects the contemporary condition of perpetually feeling in-between places, of wandering throughout the world and the struggle to find a sense of fitting in.

Stephanie Sacco, Curator (excerpt from catalogue)