Kenning, Dean
Dean Kenning’s artworks include sculptures, videos and diagrams. He employs DIY, allegorical methods of representation, which explore political and philosophical material to create encounters that are both humorous and uncanny.
Being-In-Common, 2019, presents an emblem from Metallurgy of the Subject, Kenning’s ongoing project that has taken on forms such as publications, wall drawings, lectures, performances, and animation. This came from the artist’s reading of contemporary philosophical reconceptions of community and communism, including The Inoperative Community by Jean-Luc Nancy (1985–86). Kenning uses a diagram to represent political subject positions, picturing the movement from individualist to collectivist modes and drawing on the symbolism of alchemical images and processes. As such, it is an artistic contribution toward a communist imaginary and a critique of neoliberal individualism.
- Artwork Details: 80 x 60cm
- Edition: 3 of 15
- Material description: Screen print on archival paper
- Credit line: Gift of the artist, 2022 © the artist. Image courtesy of the artist. Photo: Jonathan Bassett
- Theme:
- Medium: Print
- Accession number: ACC44/2021