I create speculative worlds, narratives and artefacts that explore questions of place, memory, architecture and belief. Working across painting, sculpture, installation, writing and digital media, I use whatever tools are necessary to bring these imagined spaces into existence.
Many of my projects begin with a simple question: what if this place, system, history or future were different?
From that starting point, fictional worlds emerge. Some take the form of exhibitions, installations or public artworks. Others become archives, stories, maps, documents or long-running speculative projects. Rather than treating narrative as something separate from visual art, I use it as a framework through which places, objects and ideas can be explored.
My work often sits between fact and fiction. I am interested in how stories shape our understanding of places, how infrastructure reflects belief systems, and how architecture can act as a record of memory, ambition and cultural identity. Recurring themes include place, time, memory, architecture, infrastructure, systems and the futures we imagine for ourselves and our communities.
Current projects include The Constant State, an ongoing speculative archive exploring impossible architecture across multiple timelines; PRTV (Peterlee Relational Test Vehicle), a municipal retrofuturist reimagining of Peterlee; and a range of exhibitions, installations and public-facing projects that use worldbuilding, narrative and participation as artistic tools.
David Kenney is an artist, writer, curator and creative producer based in the North East of England. His practice spans painting, sculpture, installation, writing, public art and digital media, with a particular interest in creating immersive frameworks through which audiences can explore imagined places and alternative realities.