18 February to 29 April 2017
Treasured City is 20-21’s latest commission by acclaimed artist Luke Jerram.
Jerram’s multi-disciplinary practice involves the creation of sculptures, installations and live arts projects. Living in the UK but working internationally for 19 years, Jerram has created a number of extraordinary works that have excited and inspired people around the globe.
For Treasured City, Jerram cast five small artefacts from the North Lincolnshire Museum collection in 18 carat gold. Worth at least £2500 each, the gold sculptures were hidden across Scunthorpe and North Lincolnshire for the public to find and keep. Clues to the whereabouts of the gold artworks were woven into five paintings, which will be display in the gallery until April 2017. The exhibition also includes documentation of the making process and celebrates the history of the region.
The paintings were created with the aid of a professional code-breaker, and the locations of the hidden gold artefacts ranged in difficulty. So far, four of the five gold pieces have been found, with the location of the final item concealed in the white painting.
Finders Keepers
As well as getting to keep the object, the members of the public who found the gold also get to decide which venue in the area will get to keep the associated painting.
“I like the idea that ancient objects that were once hidden beneath the earth and were discovered and displayed at the museum are now being rehidden. I hope the public will enjoy visiting 20-21 Arts Centre and exploring the town and surrounding countryside.” Luke Jerram
The Journey So Far
You can find more about how the lucky treasure hunters cracked the codes and found the gold here.
£500 to charity of your choice if you can solve the red painting
The gold fisher-woman may have been found (by some lucky people at Normanby Hall) but the red painting is yet to be solved! As it’s the most difficult of the five puzzles, Luke’s puzzle-maker is challenging people to find how it leads to the location the object was found, and promising to give £500 to the charity of choice to anyone who can crack the code. Could it be you?
With Thanks To
Commissioned by 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Treasured City is being supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council of England, with kind support from North Lincolnshire Museum. People can follow the progress of Treasured City at www.lukejerram.com/treasuredcity or via twitter @lukejerram and @2021VisualArts and by searching the hashtag #treasuredcity.
