Six New Works by Jake Kennedy (aka Butternut Collage)
All of these pieces were created during lockdown (along with many others), using a smaller selection of source materials than I would usually have access to as my studio was out of bounds. I enjoyed the process more than ever, working with these constraints.
The pieces still have a feeling of confinement for me, with some produced on old book covers, others on fascinatingly moldy paper, and one on top of a collage I’d had for a year, destroyed in frustration and then built up again. Some are simple, two-part collages, others are more chaotic - which I think is a fair representation of the way I usually work, and maybe lockdown in general.
Jake Kennedy is an analogue paper collage artist from Hove in the UK. He works as “Butternut Collage,” a name only chosen because it was mildly funny at the time, but has stuck now.
He has been making collages since about 1993, assembling paper cut outs instead of still life drawing in school. He has since produced magazine covers, made record sleeve art, been featured at exhibits, and has even been on TV.
He works with vintage materials sourced from across the globe. His pieces have either a literal, perhaps humorous, approach that juxtaposes often completely unrelated things, or a more abstract approach that tries its hardest to utilize shape, colour, contrast, and minimalism.
Instagram: @butternutcollage