Kitt Bennett is a Melbourne artist who has generated a bit of a knack for amazing detail in his illustrations. As the above piece demonstrates, his desire for detail produces pieces that are intricate and bitingly astute. He is opening his first exhibition at the Juddy Roller gallery today and had some time to answer a few questions for us.
Was there a moment that sparked the interest in how internal and external worlds connect, which is explored in your show?
I don’t think I could put my finger on a specific moment that sparked interest. I guess just general research for my own reasons has turned me to investigate certain themes. Creating artwork about topics I’m interested in helps ideas develop as I progress and learn. I find I discover a lot once I start drawing.
To me, your pieces are detailed in this way that takes the viewer really deep into exploration of line and structure. What inspires you draw in this technique?
I find it important to create images that hold the viewers attention. I’m sharing stories and ideas, so things have to be discovered and found out by exploration. I want to keep people interested for as long as possible. I call it the where’s Wally effect.
For someone with a very short attention span I still believe that stopping to take something in over time is important.
You also have an interesting storytelling aspect in your pieces. How do you come up with these ideas of stories to tell in your art?
I’ve always been into comics and the way they express time and movement. I think a lot of art can be static. I don’t want to create a single moment in time I want to tell stories that move, as well as travelling inwards to reveal information. I mean, its possible to zoom into ourselves and find a universe of microorganisms with potential lives and relationships that we don’t know about. I’m incessantly fascinated by the complexity of everything that exists around us. This curiosity is what drives me to use narrative in my work
The exhibition is a large scale project. Is it daunting to take on large pieces of art?
For me the hardest part of large-scale projects and big illustrations is losing interest half way through and starting something else. And I guess there is always an element of doubt when it comes to exhibiting. But I personally make art for myself and hopefully an audience is into it.
Kitt Bennett’s first solo exhibition Onwards & Inwards opens at Juddy Roller Studio in Fitzroy, Melbourne on Friday 2nd December. For more info head to their website.
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