‘Planes, Trains and Bubble’O Bills’ by Melbourne-based artist Kenny Pittock casts a witty spell of humour over the mundane ramblings of everyday life. Audiences are invited to view the exhibition at Tweed Regional Gallery in northern New South Wales, until 14 March 2021.
With the theme of connection at the heart of his works in ‘Planes, Trains and Bubble’O Bills’, Pittock serves up a funny and optimistic look at the world, across a series of 99 drawings alongside a display of playful sculptures modelled on the most ordinary of objects each infused with the whimsical notions of Pittock’s humour, such as in Flights Cancelled Blues jelly (2020) pictured here.
The title of the show borrows inspiration from the 1987 film ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’. A story about the misadventures of two salesmen and their comical three-day journey to get home in time for Thanksgiving. Starring Steve Martin and John Candy.
Previous to Covid-19 restrictions Pittock used his daily two-hour travel time as an opportunity to make art while commuting to and from his studio by train. Drawing ‘en train air’ if you like, Pittock sketched fellow passengers on the train capturing snippets of how they passed the time on their commute. Pittock narrates his drawings with a clever play on words evoking an amusing and relatable sense of familiarity and connection.
Of this series of drawings, which premiered in 2014 as part of the exhibition ‘NEW14’ at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Pittock says, “These drawings of mundane situations within crowded train carriages take on a new meaning this year.”
During Melbourne lockdowns Pittock explored ways of keeping busy and staying mentally charged while being stuck in one place. He says, “In previous years this meant finding ways to pass the time during our daily commuting, such as drawing on the train,” but in recent times “this has branched out into our homes, in ways such as getting a sourdough starter, looking for missing puzzle pieces and cutting our own fringe.” With his light-hearted and optimistic outlook Pittock says, “If we can’t get on an actual plane, at least we still have Aeroplane jelly!”
At a time when we look for positivity in the future, this wonderfully fun and uplifting exhibition of works by Kenny Pittock is destined to cause a smile and a belly-chuckle from audiences.
Exhibition programming in the January School Holidays
Families are invited to get involved in ART PLAY where you can create your own ‘CLAYONS’ inspired by Kenny Pittock’s ‘Planes, Trains and Bubble’O Bills’ exhibition. The activities are available online and also in the Gallery and will proceed in keeping with COVID-19 regulations.
Click here for session times and ticketing for ‘CLAYONS’ and other ‘Programs for Families’.
Follow this link for more information about visiting Tweed Regional Gallery. And if you would like to stay up to date with Kenny’s playful art adventures follow the artist here on his Blog page and on Instagram.