painted ghosts (2023)
Painted Ghosts was a solo exhibition held at Sol Gallery (Fitzroy VIC) on 8-19 March 2023, and comprised of a selection of works created between 2021 and 2023.
The works are the material outcomes of a critical exploration into personal identity and family legacy. Triggered by an episode of career burnout within the health profession, Kelvin examined his position as a ‘third culture’ individual within the context of persistent cultural dysphoria and a discordant sense of belonging within Australian society. Parental and institutional erasures of diasporic heritage, and its replacement with the values of Australian middle class suburbia and professional status, are critically examined through diverse archival and lens-based works.
The monster had a paintbrush in its hand and was in the process of touching up the skin in lifelike colour. When the painting was done, it threw down the brush, lifted up the skin, shook it out like a cloak and wrapped itself in it.
When they examined the pelt, it was complete in every human detail – the eyes, the hands and feet. The Taoist proceeded to roll it up like a scroll (it even made the same sound), placed it in his bag and set off.
The Painted Skin, Pu Songling (1640-1715)
The ability to correctly infer the identity of the image in the mirror requires a pre-existing sense of self on the part of the organism making that inference. Without a sense of self, how would you know who you were seeing when confronted with your reflection in a mirror?
The Mirror Test, Gallup, Anderson & Shillito (2002)
There are identities from being born
There are identities from being in one place for a long time
There are identities from being in many places
There are identities that are given to me without my consent
There are identities that others tell me to become
There are identities that I think I should have
There are identities I did not know I had until later
There are identities that are not what I thought they were
There are identities I choose but will later regret choosing
There are identities in my participation
There are identities that make others like me
There are identities that make others dislike me
There are identities that bring respect
There are identities that bring shame
There are identities that I hide
There are identities that I cannot hide or escape from
There are identities that I will have even when I am dead
There are identities in my metadata
There are identities I cultivate into profiles
There are identities I can buy
There are identities that will get me paid
There are identities in my achievements
There are identities in my failures
There are identities in my genetic code
There are identities in my habitus
There are identities in my physiognomy
There are identities in my speech
There are identities in my smell
There are identities in my stuff
There are identities in my car
There are identities in my condiments
There are identities in my camera
There are identities in how I sound in a recording
There are identities in how I appear in the mirror
There are identities in how I appear in a photograph
