Jacky Winter is pleased to present Unattainable Rainbows – a solo show by Beci Orpin.

After returning from a milestone adventure across the USA, artist Beci Orpin struggled to adjust to mundane daily life. She got caught up in a cycle of materialistic desire and acquisition. For Orpin, ‘unattainable rainbows’ are the material things we lust after and buy to feel happy, regardless of how short-lived – or even unreal – that happiness may be.

Unattainable Rainbows is a reflection on the unsustainable, retail-as-therapy, coping mechanisms that many of us employ. ‘Material possessions which would fill a void: A new rug, a pair of jeans, some pony-hair Mary-Jane shoes, an ottoman, some new make-up.’ Orpin explains; ‘These are some of my unattainable rainbows - things I have lusted after, sometimes buying them in the pursuit of happiness. The joy was instant, but of course it didn’t last.’

The show features large-scale, wooden cut-out wilting flowers and a self-portrait silhouette with a window where her face should be.

Beyond that window, visitors see a multi-coloured scene: a mural of sensory overload and an array of painted wooden placards with sombre messages like ‘I am not a believer’ and ‘look deep’. The next wall contains Beci’s ‘Unhappiness Boutique’: an arrangement of paintings showcasing material objects Orpin once obsessed over and bought in her desire for instant gratification.

Complete with its own confession booth, the show invites visitors to write down their own ‘unattainable rainbows’ at the opening and through the first week of the show. Beci will then create new works to add to the Boutique, informed by the public’s lustful confessions of coveted luxuries. Prints, original paintings and props will be available for purchase.

Beci Orpin is a designer-illustrator and curator based in Melbourne. Orpin has been freelancing for over 20 years and exhibiting her work both locally and internationally.