Bekah Carran: And we look and comb our hair

Bekah Carran (Te Ati Awa, Taranaki) works with crafted and found objects, casting them to form mystical sculptures that balance a sense of delicacy and tension.

And we look and comb our hair takes objects found in domestic spaces, specifically from the ever-present, magnetic bowl where things—mostly dross—converge: a bean that was never planted; a tube of superglue with its cap fixed on; a single, forgotten earring.

These sculptures take the dish of ‘things’ into an otherworldly realm—presenting something akin to a scrying bowl, used for divination or fortune-telling with the purpose of seeking personal guidance, prophecy, revelation or inspiration.

Carran’s work responds, in part, to debates on consumption and accumulation. Looking to objects that outlast us, the works resemble treasured relics transformed from modern industrial materials into something seemingly ancient. It prompts us to think about the timeline and life of objects and the cyclical nature of time.

Carran lives and works on the Otago Peninsula, Ōtepoti Dunedin and is represented by Bowen Galleries, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.