Bek Coogan - Art Cave Refrain

This exhibition ran from 26th October - 14th November, 2020

An exhibition in Pyramid Club's Stairwell Gallery as part of P-Club's 'Unmaking the Near Future' series.

For Bek Coogan, “Art Cave Refrain” really means…”holy shit, I got my stuff out of storage after five years, and argh, the grim reckoning of stuff, and what do I do with at least 3 banana boxes of tapes from the year 1997...?, and why have I kept them..?, and holy shit, some of this stuff I’m excavating from 2000 seems kinda prophetic..? Maybe this is lyrics..?”

Bek says:

The lock down/Rahui of Covid, and ongoing 2020 has been a strange time for us all. For me it also coincided with getting my stuff out of storage (least 30 banana boxes of years of ephimera and cosmic detritus), and actually having a small studio/work space for the first time in ages [note: Bek prefers to call it an Art Cave].
The timing was interesting as the lockdown/rahui seemed to give time and space for the subconcious shadows, on both a collective and personal level. This exhibition is about the digging thru my 'stuff' and its shadows to find the why/reason this stuff still remains.

As part of Pyramid Club's series of commissions Bek presented some of the findings in an exhibition installation in the P-Club stairwell. She was really hoping that the ‘diggings’ will at least be part of that birthing of that famous Rock Opera that is still waiting to happen. Did the shadows end up singing..? Were the lyrical verses revealed ? Or was it all just another refrain..? Either way she's gonna have to sing it to the walls. ( R.A.C 5/10/20 )

ALSO: As part of the exhibition Bek is worked with her Uncle Peter Mechen on a 'raw canon' to ' classical canon' conversation and listening session.

Bek Coogan (MFA, Massey) is an artist/musician based in Karori, Wellington, originally from Te Papaioea. Her bands have included Cortina, Full Fucking Moon and the some-times collaboration with Fantasing. Bek also performs solo as Sheville, or Oona Verse. “Art is Important “ – to quote her Fantasing band mate Gemma Syme. Once described in P-Club promo as “backyard Da-Da”, Bek’s just pretty keen for everybody to feel more liberated.
 

'Unmaking the Near Future' is a series of commissions created against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid19 saga. Many thanks to Creative NZ for supporting this series.