If not for John Kelly’s mother buying a particular brand of milk in 1982, the Sunshine-raised artist probably wouldn’t be making his way to Antarctica right now.
Kelly, one of seven children, faced the real danger of dropping out of his bachelor of arts studies at RMIT as the family’s purse strings tightened.
But the purchase of a carton of Pura milk, with a coupon-raffle included, held the key to his future artistic endeavours.
The Bristol, UK-born artist’s name was later pulled out of a barrel of thousands for a combined Pura/radio station competition.
Kelly suddenly had $1000 worth of student fees paid for and his future was secured.
“[My parents] had told me they couldn’t send me back to college,’’ he says. ‘‘At the time we didn’t even have a telephone.”
Kelly caught the art bug while at Sunshine Technical School and eventually made his way to London’s Slade School of Fine Art.
He is now based in west Cork in Ireland which, he says, has provided the ideal preparation for painting in sub-zero conditions as part of his Australian Antarctic arts fellowship. “The Irish landscape is my precursor to going down on the ice,’’ he says.
Kelly left Hobart on a 12-day voyage to Antarctica on October 15, along with a team of scientists and flight and maintenance personnel.
In chilly Cork, his curious habit of painting with a pair of gloves with the thumb and index finger cut out, so he can comfortably hold a brush, has served his art well.
“The conditions contribute to the painting in a very real way, with the bulky clothes all making the painting hard to preconceive,” he says. “It’s probably a bit like sport where you are playing against the conditions. Sometimes it’s not pretty, and very intense.
“In Ireland, it is often freezing in winter and with windchill factor even colder. But as long as it’s dry, you can paint. It’s not the materials but the physical restrictions that impact on the work.’’
Kelly says he enjoys working under such restraints.
‘‘It means unexpected things happen,” he says. ‘‘The wind, that’s what will stop me working.”
Kelly will be located at the Mawson base and won’t be able to travel to other bases alone.
“Always in pairs; safety’s obviously a high priority,” he says.
The fellowship is a way of informing and educating Australians about Antarctica and Australia’s activities there.
Applicants from all areas of the creative arts, humanities and social sciences are invited to apply.
» antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/antarctic-arts-fellowship
