Bing Bang Ring - Cash is King! Exhibition opening

Throughout 2024 Dungog artist Helene Leane was busy creating an exhibition inspired by a beautifully ornate National Cash Register from the Dungog Museum’s collection. The exhibit, Bing Bang Ring. Cash is King!, opens soon, revealing Helene’s fresh interpretation of this historical piece. Funded by the Regional Arts Fund, an Australian Government initiative supporting the arts in regional and remote areas, this project is part of a larger museum activation initiative by Arts Upper Hunter. This initiative brings contemporary art to three regional museums: Sophie Cox at the Scone Museum, Todd Fuller at Tocal Homestead, and Helene Leane at the Dungog Museum.

At the heart of Helene’s work is the cash register, originally a centerpiece at Skillen’s grocery shop in Dungog, which served the community until 1966 when Australia transitioned to decimal currency. The register brings the shop, once located where Dungog Medical Surgery now stands, back to life.

Drawing on the consumer culture of that era, Helene reimagined products once sold in Skillen’s and other local shops, transforming them into Pop Art-style posters. She also collected photographs of Dungog’s old shops and community members, reworking them into vibrant pop-inspired pieces. These artworks, adding a modern twist to Dungog’s retail history, will be on display indefinitely at the Dungog Museum.

This exhibition opening coinciding with the Dungog Xmas Street Party.