Among the entries to the recently announced Archibald Prize by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, was Aaron Kinnane’s portrait of Australian singer Ben Lee—not swinging to one of his catchy pop tunes, but donning a shimmering Indian turban, and a rather pensive look.
“Ben’s time in India and the spiritual guidance from his guru is a very important part of his life,” reveals Kinnane who accompanies Lee to his wedding in South India. “I felt I had to make reference to it somehow with out going overboard and looking all Bollywood. When I saw him at his wedding ceremony he was wearing the headdress. I thought straight away that it was the reference I was looking for,” says Kinnane.
Meanwhile, under the gold turban, lined with pearls, Lee sports a regular T-shirt. “He also lives in Los Angele, which is a stark contrast in every way compared to India. The T-shirt is simply a reference to his western way of life…a humble Aussie guy living in LA,” adds Kinnane.
He first met Lee in November last year at a small show he played at Bondi Icebergs. “A friend of mine, Mike Campbell who works for universal music arranged for us to meet after the show,” says Kinnane. “He struck me as an interesting guy, not only in his physicality but also his story. We are a similar age so he is no stranger to me, having always heard both positive and negative press about him over the last 15 years or so through the media. He came across as an open, intelligent, warm kinda guy with a story to tell... good ingredients for a painting subject,” reveals Kinnane.
Lee not only agreed to sit for the portrait, but also invited Kinnane to accompany him to his wedding to US-actress Ione Skye, in India. “It was a very generous offer - one I couldn't say no to,” recalls Kinnane. “I'd never been to India before so I had no idea what to expect. So I booked a ticket and 2 weeks later arrived in Chennai.”
The wedding took place on the 29th of December at Sri Narayani Peedam—a charitable organization and spiritual community in a small village called Thirumalaikodi, just outside the city of Vellore in Tamil Nadu. Guests included director Nash Edgerton, musician Missy Higgins and former Home And Away star Jessica Chapnik“Most of the time at the Peedam there were different pujas going on that you could attend,” sayd Kinnane. The schedule for the day included the opening of the temples at 8.30am and Gho Puja, followed by Abhishekam (the bathing of Nayarani) and Aarti (lighting of lamps).
“There were about 50 people staying at the Peedam so most of the time was spent meditating at the pujas together. In between we'd all sit around and eat and talk,” recalls Kinnane. “I spent most of my time talking with friends of Ben and observing how he interacted with others. It was a great environment to get to know someone. I’d draw each night in my room,” he adds.
However, it was only the day after the wedding that Kinnane managed to get some time alone with Lee. “Ben and I went for a long walk in down a country road outside the ashram. We talked about a whole range of things. I was determined not to have our time spent like an interview so the walk was great. Ben was really honest and open about all facets of his life,” says Kinnane.
It was only after he got back to his Sydney studio that Kinnane began work on the portrait. “My painting process consists of many layers of fairly bold colour,” says Kinnane. He worked off drawings and photos he had from the trip and had 4 weeks to complete the painting before the entries were due. “I was working round the clock to get it finished in time. After about week 2 I was going a little crazy,” says Kinnane.
“It’s quite a strange reality to be in a studio by yourself for a month focussed so much on another persons head! I felt like I was starting to lose the painting at one stage. Jessica Chapnik visited the studio to see the progress and after talking about the experience in India with her I felt I was focussed again to go on and finish the work.”
Though the portrait did not go on to win the prestigious Archibald Prize, it will occupy a place of pride in Lee’s LA home where it will be shipped as a wedding present from Kinnane after the exhibition. Images of the portrait can be seen on www.aaronkinnane.com
Meanwhile, Kinnane has returned from India with quite an admiration for the culture. Although he was only there for one week, he found time to see a little bit of the country outside of the Peedam. “I did manage to go into Vellore a few times. It was an assault on the senses. There was beauty and tragedy everywhere, side by side,” recalls Kinnane. As I made my way through the chaos of the traffic and streets, I wondered if there was such thing as a postman in that city and how he'd get about. I didn’t see a street sign anywhere.”
With an artist’s eye, Kinnane weaves some beautiful poetry around otherwise mundane sights. “The wires looked like someone had run around the streets throwing balls of wool from pole to pole making sure they tangled different colours at each junction box.”And besides the minor hitch of concerns around hygiene, Kinnane quite loved the country. “The gutters and drains, well... very different to Australia. Don’t get me wrong! I loved it, I can’t wait to return to the amazing colours and aromas of spices and food, the unruly traffic, the wonderful friendly and seemingly ever smiling people.”
Kinnane is planning a trip back in September to explore further south with a writer friend. “We plan on working on an illustrated short story during our travels there, this time for a few weeks,” he says.
While still in Australia, we presume Kinnane will be practicing some of the Indian words he learned there, including “Om Namo Narayani” and gobbling down plates of Indian curry—“I am a huge fan of palak paneer.”
The Archibald Prize exhibition will continue at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until 24 May. For more information, please visit www.thearchibaldprize.com.au/exhibition
For more information about Aaron Kinnane, please visit www.aaronkinnane.com
