Gilt, 2022

Four large shiny sculptures are richly adorned. They resemble historical urns and trophies like those often seen in Western museums. But the title "Gilt" literally translates to ‘imposter.' Indeed, the cups aren’t made of real gold, they’re just gilded resin. They are not even authentic—merely beautiful façades with rough backs.

With these sculptures, Hew Locke refers to the many objects in museum collections across the world. Together, they show how we have arrived as people at this point in time, after long histories of power, imperialism, trade and migration.

The objects shown are often taken from their original context and given new value in museums.  It’s not only the artist who gave meaning to these works; as viewers, we assign them new value or truth as well.

Many museums worldwide no longer view themselves as guardians of value and authenticity. Increasingly, they are more careful with ‘who’ decides which objects are given value, and which stories we tell about them.

Number 24 on the map.