She specializes in painting and soft sculpture and is best known for her exploration of the human condition, particularly the psychological impact of intergenerational trauma. Her work explores themes on the translation of ‘self,’ the brain, a symbolic mother figure, and the common housefly, a recurring inspiration which serves to evoke perceptions of the uncanny within complex human behaviour.
In her studio-based practice, Kennedy has produced several significant series that explore trauma, institutional and family violence, and the role of women, particularly mothers. Drawing from her own experiences of psychological and physical absence in childhood, she explores how trauma visually manifests through art and the unconscious. Key projects include postgraduate work, on ‘Re-imagining a Symbolic Mother Figure,’ and a major body of work at the Experimental Art Foundation (aeaf), in 2011, where she installed and replicated a large darkroom within the gallery space, she has also held several exhibitions with Artlab Australia as part of their ‘Artist in the Foyer’ series. Her ongoing project, Psychosocial Assets (tools for life), began in 2021, and feature soft sculptural objects that explore emotional and psychological self-regulation.
In 2021, Kennedy became the inaugural ‘Visiting’ Artist in Residence at The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations in London, coinciding with her participation in UK/AU SEASON, a cultural exchange initiative between the British Council and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 2023, she joined The Royal Society of Sculptors (RSS) and shared in the Peer X Peer residency program with Art et al., in partnership with the RSS and Actionspace Studios in London. In 2024, she exhibited several works in Neoterica at the Adelaide Festival Australia, in addition to presenting work at the Royal Overseas League (ROSL) in James Place, London.