‘An important moment for me’: artist Oliver Beer’s cave-themed project wins over a reluctant Rufus Wainwright

Fans of the Canadian American singer Rufus Wainwright were recently treated to an impromptu performance from the Grammy-nominated star during a talk at Thaddaeus Ropac gallery in London. Wainwright, known for his outlandish tribute shows to Judy Garland, was on fine form discussing the British artist Oliver Beer’s Resonance Project: The Cave, which involved asking eight singers to respond to the acoustic frequencies in a prehistoric painted cave in the Dordogne, southwest France. Among them was Wainwright, who eulogised about the cave. “I went down to see Oliver and there was lousy weather, it took ages to get there… I thought what the hell am I doing at this point. I could be in a spa right now.” But the trip to see the project, which recently closed at Thaddaeus Ropac, revitalised him. “To focus on the minutiae and the spirit of what you do every day—was just such an important moment for me.”