Challenging sex toy artwork on display
Jason Beca is not one to shy away from controversy and the Kapiti artist’s entry in Pataka’s Box Art exhibition is bound to raise a few eyebrows.
The Raumati South man, known for making a Tardis time-travelling machine bed and a sex chair, views the annual Pataka show as a chance to ‘‘provoke thought’’.
His Victorian- themed sex toy, made from wood and coated with more than a litre of enamel paint, can be carried away in a velvet-lined box. He has called it Palatial Passion and is asking $5000 for it.
The inspiration for it is selfexplanatory, he says.
‘‘I’m sure it’s going to cause a few eyebrows to move but when I come to exhibitions like this I expect to see things that will amaze me and I will remember them. Otherwise I walk out. People will see my work and have a laugh or be offended, but I don’t mind.’’
Beca says he makes about 10 pieces of art a year, attracting interest from around the country and internationally.
Palatial Passion took more than a month to construct, with plenty of sanding, polishing and painting, which he has done while working on other projects.
‘‘I’ve got a jet engine on my workshop floor, have something big planned with that . . . .’’
Beca says he loves the liberal feel of Pataka and is looking forward to seeing what the 40 other artists have come up with for the Box Art Show, which opened on August 16. It runs until September 2, with a percentage of sales going towards an artist-inresidence scheme.