CoCA is excited to host Gemma Syme at Ō Papa Gallery to celebrate the 10th anniversary of her work, The Wet EP.

Delve into a captivating exploration of digital identity and sonic landscapes of Syme’s multimedia project Instant Fantasy. Weaving together music, sound, visuals, and live performance, Gemma will explore how both authentic and mediated personas are constructed, documented, represented and ripped apart.

This special event sees a bold reimagining of The Wet EP, recently reissued by Tāmaki Makaurau's Sunreturn label. Expect fresh video work, created in collaboration with the Ōtautahi based artist Pentaloe, and amplified music by the 103 Soundsystem.

Described as "synth-drone ego mining" that paradoxically offers a sense of liberation within its melancholic depths, The Wet EP serves as a potent foundation for Syme's ongoing investigation into contemporary identity. Through the lens of digital selves, myth, and emergent technologies, she invites us to consider how we navigate and construct ourselves in an increasingly mediated world.

Join us on Saturday 7 June, 2025, for one of three performances at 3:30pm, 5:30pm, or 7:30pm.
  

Performer information
  

Gemma Syme aka Instant Fantasy is a multidisciplinary artist + musician based in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Her artwork spans video, performance, sound, digital technology, printmaking and whatever else she needs to make it. She uses the band as a vehicle to explore the absurdity of fame in popular culture, and how personality is constructed, documented, represented and ripped apart.

@pentaloe, a queer visual artist, has roots in a tranquil apple orchard in the West of England and currently resides in Ōtautahi. Inspired by the otherworldly space of the dancefloor, each unique, one-off live set transforms sound into striking visuals. Pentaloe uses a blend of archive imagery, video shoots and live improvised programming of visuals in real-time, blending sight and sound into mesmerizing experiences.

Born in 2023 from a long developed passion for bass music and sound production, 103 Soundsystem is a genre-agnostic system, made for the many strains of dance music celebrated in Ōtautahi and the Waitaha region