Entomorph 1: Cicada
Where Nature Meets the Machine
What if evolution took a different path — one forged in steel and circuit rather than flesh and wing?
Entomorph 1 – Cicada is the first work in Rob Kennedy's provocative new series exploring the collision of the natural world and human engineering. A mechanical cicada, rendered with uncanny realism in oil on canvas, stands poised on a weathered, deteriorating log. Every gear, joint and carapace plate is painted with the same reverence a naturalist might give to the living insect — because in this world, it is the living insect.
The work asks a quiet but unsettling question: as falcons nest on high-rise buildings and foxes navigate suburban streets, who is truly inhabiting whose environment? Kennedy reverses the familiar narrative — here, it is nature that has been engineered, not the other way around.
Painted in rich, luminous oils on canvas mounted to panel, the work rewards close inspection. The texture of the decaying log contrasts with the cold precision of the cicada's mechanical form, creating a tension that is as beautiful as it is thought-provoking.
Work Details
Medium: Oil on canvas, mounted to panel
Dimensions: 57cm wide × 61.5cm high
Series: Entomorphs
Certificate of Authenticity: CoA shows artwork, title, on security embossed card with verifiable security numbers.
Price includes shipping within mainland Australia and Tasmania.
Print available soon