Golden Pyramid

The Golden Pyramid (2018)

5.1m x 5.1m x 4.8m

“The Victoria Gold Trophy” was a central feature of the London International Exhibition of 1861. Nearly seventy feet in height, the tower represented the same volume of gold imported into Great Britain from Victoria during the gold rush years of 1851 to 1861, over 800 tons.

The “Golden Pyramid” is a recreation of this display in a classic pyramid form. Made from 2500 meters of pure gold thread, its volume corresponds with the 800 tons of exported gold.

In ancient cultures and belief systems, both gold and pyramids have had great spiritual significance, signifying rebirth and enlightenment beyond the material world. Concurrently, the pyramid is also a symbol of increasing inequality of wealth (the “global wealth pyramid”) and exploitative business models (“pyramid schemes”). In the shimmering and otherworldly outlines of the thread, gold is embodied by its very absence, and the concurrent lines of spirituality and materialism, past and present, and colonialism and globalization coincide.

This project was supported by Vivid Lake Foundation for the Biennale of Australian Art, Ballarat.