The British Museum has unveiled a new statue in their Statuephilia exhibit. Sculptor Marc Quinn crafted a solid gold statue of Kate Moss, said to be the largest gold statue created since the time of Ancient Egypt. The statue is uncomfortable in posture, exposure and cost, a hefty $3 million dollars.
Quinn’s commentary on the statue: “The sculpture is really about whether we make images or they make us. It’s about trying to live up to impossible dreams and immortality.”
Perhaps making more of a commentay on our time than he intended, Quinn’s remarks fail to justify a solid gold statue of this value when there are so many other things that could have been done with that money. Was solid gold really necessary? The near anorexic version of Kate is also telling of contemporary views of beauty, especially when Quinn claims she is the “ideal beauty.”