1.7 Brendan Van Hek at Sarah Cottier Gallery

Transcript

This week we’re at Sarah Cottier in Paddington. We’re seeing this artist Brendan Van Hek.

Yeah, do we want to do any more topping off? Yeah, give me some more topping off. You can see all the pictures from the show at hungup.eu on Instagram. Do you want to just play with the dog instead of doing the show? Who’s your cock dog?

Yeah, so we’re on this nice shaggy carpet looking at a neon artwork and this fucking big shaggy dog is a perfect, what do you say? Pretendee. Perfect attendee and matches the carpet just right.

Yeah. The art dog is essentially, he’s like the essential viewer. Yeah, it’s true. He’s just stoked, just hanging out here all day. True. Yeah. The art dog has already had all the time in the world to soak in everything. Yeah, yeah. I’ve seen all this before. I just want to see who’s coming in now, you know what I mean? Maybe Hazel will follow us around.

Do you want to walk around some more? I don’t want to talk about the serenity on tape. I guess like we, the front room of the gallery where you can like see the street, it was a little bit like harsher than this room. And it was almost a bit like, you know, ever so slightly uncomfortable for me like. I did you.

Is that going to be, are you going to keep doing that? You’re ruining the audio. Yeah, we like wound up in this back room, but I think it’s kind of like of the spaces in this show, this is like the safest one. Like there’s this big like rug on the ground, which is nice and soft underfoot. It’s like, this is like the warmest, safest kind of hidey hole room.

Like the lights are a bit dimmer, we’re like away from the gallery manager. Yeah. Like I feel a bit more comfortable in here, which is nice. Mm. A little safety room. The dog fucking feels very happy here like begging us to throw this ball. You want me to throw that or nah?

All right. Well, I’m standing over here. There’s like this big like, there are waves on the carpet. It’s like blues, dark blues. Light blues, you name it. Yeah. It’s like all the blues. And there’s like, yeah, little bits where the patterns like this looks a bit like sea spittle. Yeah. Like the little blues in the other blues. True. Yeah.

It’s mixed together. And there’s, it’s a sentence written in neon lights. Yeah. It says suddenly the sea has stopped. It is this kind of, what would you call it? Like a massive expansion of like a word and like language, like to blow it up from, you know,

a book or something on a screen or like an ad. Mm-hmm. It’s like really being given this, like the religious treatment. Mm-hmm. It’s like, you know, five words and like, look how important they are. Like, I like the way the, the rug makes it feel like we’re in, like I was saying before. Yeah. Like this safe, comfy, homey space. Yeah. It’s like different to the rest of the gallery.

Yeah. That’s one thing is like, I want to sit down with this dog and like just chill in this room. Yeah. You know, I want to hang out in this room. Yeah. So this got my eye from the street. It’s like this array of red and I don’t know, what would you call that? Is that white or like, does it just look pinky because it’s a… Yeah. It’s probably white, but it looks pink.

Yeah. Yeah. This is cool. This, very arresting visually, because like the light’s coming from these like neon tubes. And it’s just so fucking like mesmerizing. Like I’m the bug that’s going to get zapped by this.

Okay.

It doesn’t feel like there’s heaps of it for us to say about this. Yeah. It’s like, it’s an incredibly visual show. Like there’s, there isn’t like, remember when we saw Genevieve last week, like that was visual, but there was all these comparisons being made and like so many sort of, there was like six or seven

dimensions like at play. Um, this is like so, so strongly visual and like, um… I was also thinking on the back of that, like, yeah, it’s deeply visual. It’s also abstract and there’s some kind of play with like the world of design. Yes. So like the fundamental kind of, uh, idea in this show is these, you know, they look like sculptures.

They almost look a bit like seventies or like retro lamps. Yeah. So it’s like these three kind of like big discs that, uh, go from like the biggest on the bottom and then a medium and a smaller. Yeah. And there’s like six of those in different kind of arresting colors, just positioned around the gallery.

On these kind of custom tables, like these all look like cut specifically for this show.

Let’s get up real close to one of these and have a, have a look there. And the sort of separating bit between the, um, discs, they’ve got this beautiful, like, Oh, there’s our, uh, don’t move. There’s our DP. They’ve got this really beautiful, like spiral pattern. These to me, I’m pretty sure these are just like hand blown out of glass.

There’s so much like light and reflective stuff going on. Like you were talking about this space and you can just kind of see the reflection of everything in everything else. Mm-hmm . Like you were now our backs are facing that kind of big red neon, like work. Mm-hmm . And you can still see it like on the big glass kind of.

Oh, yeah. And, uh, above our head is this like band of like fluorescent white tube lights. And those are being reflected in all of the works. Yeah. Like super reflective. True. And the floor as well. Yeah. Floor is polished. This room is so shiny. It’s like, oh, it’s, it’s like, yeah, it’s got this great otherworldly kind of thing.

Yeah. Yeah. Which is, um, what I was thinking about on the way over here. Like I was, I saw a few of these online and I was thinking about what it would feel like to be with them. And like, probably, I don’t know, one of the things that I like most about going to an art show is being taken into this other world. Yeah. This, like I’m getting real, like, um, uh, like Kubrick or, um, what’s my favorite

Russian guy? Like Tarkovsky vibes. Like, I just want to see like a scene set in this gallery, you know? Mm-hmm . It’s, it’s, it’s so booming this space. It’s like making us talk quiet. Yeah. And, um, it’s also like just the way it’s laid out, it’s got that sort of effect, but I think on my like sort of body somehow, that same kind of effect.

Totally. Like I feel, it feels very relaxing and meditative and like, you know, it’s, it’s, yeah, it’s very, um, conducive way to lay everything out. So right now, like it’s, it’s in this room, it’s, it’s essentially like a wordless room. And there’s like, I think all the other shows we’ve been to have had like characters or

humans or, you know, real objects. I mean, I guess the tables could be real, but they’re very like unconventional. Yeah. Like they’re kind of very pretty. I mean, I guess some of them could be useful. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, there’s this real sense of just, um, wordless abstraction, which is, uh, yeah,

definitely. It’s got this like, uh, what do you call it? Like this real chill effect. Yeah. You just need to like shut up and just like stand here for a while. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. This is doing all of that infinity stuff that I was saying about glazes, but, um, it’s, it’s something so clean about it. It’s like this alien super future stuff.

Like this is my science fiction dream. Yeah. This is what the world’s going to look like. Everything is going to look like this in 30,000 years. The ones we’ve seen so far, like all the other kind of like glazes have had this like real organic, like from the street, from the world, you know, from nature imperfection. But these ones are complete, like just bands of perfect color.

Like, yeah. Yeah. Like perfect mission, like industrial chemistry color. Yeah. So now we’re standing in front of, I don’t know if they’re paintings or photographs or prints, but there’s just three of them stacked on top. Yeah. And these colors are like represented elsewhere in this show, right?

Yeah. True. So we have like the red and pink that we saw on the neon. We’ve got the, the, uh, light blue and dark blues. These like gradients going from the bottom left to the top, right? Man, you get a nice $30,000 printer at home. That’d be cool. So I think we were saying last week about Matthew Harris’s work, how there was so much

kind of like character content and everything was so flat and internet-y that like, not the worst thing in the world if you don’t go to the show. Like if you just look at the pictures we put on Instagram, I reckon you got like 80% of it. Yeah. But for this show, like, nah. Yeah. You really gotta go. Like there’s so much about the architecture of the room before you even put any art in

here. Yeah. You know? And then the, the work itself is just, it’s so present. It’s like so fiercely present in this room. Like I’ve, I’ve got to come and look up, you know, up close. Like, exactly. Yeah. I’m sorry, but you just got to come. There’s so much, uh, there’s so much like sensitive, uh, like the shape of these sculptures and all

the light play that like you cannot capture. Like the, you know, there are these kind of 360 degree, like circles, these cones, the spirals on them. Like they do not represent themselves in a picture. No. Yeah, that’s true. They resist capture. It’s quite clever like that.

Hang on in the corner. Yeah, sure.

It’s beautiful.

Yeah.

So this is a, this is a fucking hectic gallery. I want to like drop acid and come back here, dude. Yeah. I want to like spend a whole week here or something. I don’t know. I’m very intrigued and into it. There’s, it’s doing all the like wanky art stuff that like, we’re very suspicious of. We like narrow our eyes when we come close to it. But like, I think like maybe this one is, is one of those cases where it’s true or something,

you know? Like, I actually think like, yeah, you’re right. But I think most gallery spaces even, or especially the wanky ones do both. Yeah. Like it’s not an either or, like even the most wanky one, like, is this like intriguing space just by virtue of like the art system and like what they, what they have and what they mean.

Like, I feel like we’re in like a fucking secret garden right now. Like, it’s awesome. Yeah. It’s what are these? They look like bamboo. There’s a bamboo. They’re beautiful. There’s like all these fucking bamboo, like nice, thin, lean bamboo trees. Yeah. Like a hundred of them. Yeah. It’s so pretty. This episode almost feels like it’s about just our trip here.

Like it’s cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s true. Yeah. It’s, it’s becoming like, uh, about now, like my, my relationship to art and like my relationship to architecture and like, I don’t know, for some reason standing in this courtyard, I just feel like very connected to like where we are and like the day. And I feel like I’m, I’ve just done like a fucking, um, meditative, like work, even though

I didn’t have to sit down and think about it. All right. Should we like sit on the rug or something? Yeah. Let’s sit on the rug.

Yeah. We were just at the like edge cliff shops before this, like chaotic, the butcher shouting at us. Yeah. What coffee do you want boys? Like, and the fucking, all the old people like doddering around. And then here we are in this like polished spaceship. Like I like this. I’m thinking now about like what you and I do when we hang out with each other and like

on paper, we would totally just like sit cross-legged in front of each other and muse, but I don’t think we’ve ever quite done it. Sure. Yeah. Not without like some substance involved. Yeah. Yeah. That’s true. Yeah. We wouldn’t ever sit like this, whether we’re drinking a beer or anything. Yeah. Like we wouldn’t sit next to each other like this. Yeah. It’s almost like the room is facilitating. Yeah.

Some kind of relationship between us. Yeah. That’s true. Yeah. Yeah. I used to be like more worried about, you know, the way that it felt like if you just wanted to hang out with your friend, you had to do something like you had to like often buy something. You have to like, let’s go for lunch. Let’s consume something. Let’s consume something. A beer or a thing or shopping or whatever.

Yeah. Like a show or even like, you know, if you’re just hanging out with like your partner in bed all day, like you feel like you’ve got to, I don’t know, there’s all these weird, I mean, it’s tied to like, you know, productivity shit and efficiency shit. You know, some of which is maybe valid, but I really love the idea of like, people just,

you know, just going for a walk or just going for a sit. It’s nice. Yes. It’s beautiful. Yeah. It feels like it has a lot to do with the way cities are designed for me and the way like, you know, people’s housing situations, like maybe don’t have a lot of space and you’ve got roommates and you can’t just like take up a whole room with your mate for six hours.

Like that has to be planned. True. And then I think we were talking about this a little while ago. Like, you know, I was, I got like a takeaway sandwich and I wanted to like find somewhere to sit down and eat it, but I couldn’t find anywhere. There was this actual like architectural hostility, like in the street. It’s like, no, you got to buy food and you got to like eat it in a restaurant or whatever.

I’m like, there’s nowhere for me to eat my sandwich. I had to sit on like a tall crappy wall. Yeah. Yeah. It’s, that’s what I was thinking. Like, you know, and there’s like plenty of libraries and like, there’s a lot of galleries, but like, what if they had like a room like this, you know, like how they have public toilets or like a library or a gallery, just like a conversation zone.

Yeah. It’s such a seventies idea, but I love it. Like, yeah. It doesn’t feel kind of stifling sometimes where like, you know, our social spaces can feel rigid. It’s like, you’re at the pub and you have to like sit at this table and you have to behave in this way. And like, you’re doing the pub and like, that’s fine. Like you’re at the restaurant, you’re at the pub and like, they’re good. They’re nice. But like, sometimes you want that bit of extra freedom.

Like even just sometimes you see people like sitting on the street, like there are a bunch of tradies outside Peter’s station today. Yeah. And like one of them had like a little 16 year old apprentice. They’re like having smoke or whatever. Yeah. It’s like eating chips, like against like someone’s car. Yeah. And there’s just this sense of like, it always tickles me in a certain way. Yeah. There’s a certain freedom of like taking up space on the city or like, you know, sitting

somewhere like maybe you shouldn’t quite sit, like you’re sitting on top of the booths instead of like in the seat. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Shouldn’t. It gets an air quote. Yeah. Totally. Yeah, for sure. It’s, it’s like a creativity that like, we’ve always digged about skaters, you know, like the way they can like find a new use or use also gets air quotes, but like a new way through

a space. Yeah. It’s like this, this show is like giving us that right now, you know, it’s like, it’s, yes, it’s a, you know, it’s a beautiful room architecturally speaking, but like the, this big carpet, this big, beautiful blue carpet, which we’ve been asked to be gentle with, um, is, uh, is, is like providing that space for us, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s a,

um, I’m trying not to use the phrase, it’s a blank canvas, but it’s like, it really kind of is for like conversation and being and chilling on. Yeah. Like as we start to get like more comfortable here, I was thinking you just brought up skating and the way that like the skater sees like the curb is not the curb. Like, you know, the skater has their own, um, uh, set of rules regarding architecture and

how they see it and how they do it. And it’s just this, you know, it’s such a brilliant part of our like culture and like such a new part. And it like came out of surfing, like, you know, these original skaters were, you know, surfing down the sidewalk. Like this is pre the existence of the Ollie. And then I started thinking about how we’re sitting on this kind of ocean themed rug.

And now we have this neon, like re illuminated by our conversation. Like suddenly the sea had stopped. And you’re talking about, I don’t know, like this sense of like, you know, the, I feel like there’s a pretty powerful analogy between like content and like the internet and like it being

like this ocean of information, you know, this endless crashing of like content and like, got to see more. And like, we’ve almost like done the, like, uh, what, what would you call it? Like done what the neon is like saying, we’ve like stopped and like sat down. And now we’re just like, you know, we’re in this very, I don’t know, we’re just talking

and being. Yeah. Yeah.

I think we could do definitely with some kind of summing up, like of how our day was, you know? Yeah. Yeah.

So here we are. We’ve wound up at, um, this like oval that’s not, you’re not allowed on, but everyone’s doing their laps anyway. And, um, we’ve kind of just had like a good talk about, um, what the function of a gallery is for us and for different people in the community, like for the artists and for, um, the art buyer.

Um, and then for people like us, the art parasites who just get a kick out of going and, um, found some like today, some genuine pleasure and something else. I don’t know. Some kind of like peace of mind or something, some kind of like perspective widening thing.

And, uh, um, yeah, there was a cool kind of real human moment where like we were faced, we were forced to, to, we were forced to confront the other interested party, which is the art buyer or like one of the other interested parties. Um, and overall I would say, uh, a good and interesting art experience today.

I’m, I’m happy we did this. Yeah. I mean, I guess I was just thinking now as, as you were like summarizing it, it was, you know, what was that an art gallery experience? Like, yes, by definition, or was it just like, you know, us in a quiet room experience? Like, I don’t know how much the art itself today, like, you know, played, played against us.

Yeah. I don’t know. It’s a mystery. We’ll go find a quiet room and discover.

All right. Should we wrap it up for today? I think that’s a wrap. Yeah. We would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which this episode was recorded and pay our respects to their elders past and present. We extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today.

You can find us on Instagram at hungup.au. Thanks. Bye. See ya.

Bye.

Show notes

EPISODE 7 🏺🛸🧘🐕‍🦺 This week we’re at Sarah Cottier Gallery in Paddington to see Brendan Van Hek Included themes: who's a good doggie, facilitating hangs, hostile vs safe architecture and skating. The show runs until 10th April find us on instagram at https://instagram.com/hungup.au