Gilding work in progress Global Minimum Wage Data published from 2024
As part of Foreign Investment’s GOLD series, which has been running since 1997, this project transforms forgotten or unwanted items into an valuable work of art through the ancient art of gilding.
The work questions how we assign value, the fairness of labour, and the systems that underpin global capitalism. Through this magical transformation, it demonstrates that value is not inherent, but is shaped by context, history and attention. In doing so, it asks: What do we value, and why?
To date, unwanted household items have been collected from the public and transformed in the gallery space through gilding – a process that creates new value through care and material.
“Foreign Investment” highlights with up-cycling what is often overlooked; it reveals the hidden networks of production, consumption and waste that underpin everyday life.
Following the successful mid-season sale, which sold out in March, it’s now time for the END-OF-SEASON SALE! Your last chance to invest in an affordable, original work of art that you can take home with you straight away.
Please note: You still can drop off any unwanted items (provided they are no larger than 30 cm) until 20 May at Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong
at Tai Kwun Contemporary, Hong Kong - https://www.taikwun.hk/en/taikwun/programmes/contemporary_art
Video of the project: https://next.frame.io/share/820d0e7d-2a21-4220-b165-ad7bba01f277/view/322faa4d-278d-4a53-ac75-d4497bf67d4e
Press Release
Foreign Investment (fi) is an international artist collective based in the United Kingdom which, since 1996, has been questioning the commercialisation of the art world, whereby the art object and the image of the individual artist become investment instruments.
It explores how the economy shapes our world – from the personal to the global – and in doing so highlights the social and cultural changes taking place all around us. The work invites us to take a closer look at the conditions under which we live and to imagine how we might collectively reshape our shared environment.
