With his solo show ‘New’ opening tomorrow night, Ed Bechervaise brings Unwell Bunny to Prahrans RTIST Gallery. We interviewed Ed earlier in the year before his last show, “Fast Forward”,  and we were stoked when he sent us a range of images highlighting the process behind his “New” body of work. 

So read on for all the preview pics, as well as a bunch of cool words on the philosophy of the work and what to expect – its gunna be a grand night at Rtist Gallery!

“This show ‘New’ is really just highlighting how we live right now – the speed in which we move, and the rate in which things come and go.

It’s merely a retrospective on the last two and a half months, through a process of observation, input and output. When you become aware of an idea, a theme, your senses tend to pick up on this as a pattern, and you look for it in the day. This is how it has been for me, sub consciously I have been observing patterns and process’ of ‘now’, and when it comes time to reflect in the studio environment, these ‘collections’ have just busted out through the various mediums.

In many ways there’s nothing particularly special about the subject matter, other than it contains the personality of the moment in which I experienced the day or the items within it, in a fast moving urban-based environment. The process has been fast, and the nature of the content is pretty fast.

The sub context of the work is really looking at raw expression, and the involvement it has in representing a voice of the times, the voice is the realism, the uncensored reality, no gloss, just a honest conversation with the greater person about what’s happening. It is a voice that I find stimulating. Its charged with energy and observation, and it belongs to the people and their right of freedom.

To celebrate that in a city such as Melbourne is superb.

Lastly I’m looking at identity, and what it means to hold something to maintain this sense of meaning. Weather it be religion, or profession or materialism or love etc. What makes someone who they are to themselves.

This body of work is in many ways also a retrospective of the past eight years in the way it has been produced, artistically what I’ve explored and practiced, and then where it might go from here. There are many cues from street expression, but I wouldn’t say that it is what the show is about, rather it is a component, a positive and very supportive component. The style is drawn from my early years while also highly based in impressionistic and expressive observation. The colour is also based in the idea of ‘trend’, like a warm glow that comes and goes. And the visual representation of ‘items’ is almost figurative to represent their relationship to identities.

They almost become personalities them selves, and provoke a sense of need to an idea of ownership. The concept of war is explored lightly within some of the work were items are conflicting with their own identities, or invading a space for a sense of identity.

All in all, I guess, it is a pretty highly charged interpretation. It has positive connections as well as negative ones, but in the end it is for the viewer to decide, and take their own story from, so if there is a message it is just to provoke thought.

That in itself is reward enough.”

We’d like to thank Ed for giving us an insight into the whole process and thoughts behind the show! If you have a show coming up, and would like us to preview it, feel free to send it through!