Goldenroach Unlimited Műcsarnok / Kunsthalle
Goldenroach Unlimited - The exhibition
In 2014, in the first legal exhibition called “the Goldenroach Unlimited”, Kiss installed 12,000 plastic goldenroaches along with one 14-carat gold roach hidden among the plastic insects in the Műcsarnok / Kunsthalle in Budapest. At first glance these roaches are just like the cheap mass-produced, plastic figures of the toy-industry lacking genuineness or nobility, however they mistakeably resemble the Goldenroaches made of real gold.
Being in a temple of art, the golden roaches have been „glorified“ like the sacred scarab, the beetle worshipped and depicted in numerous works of art by the ancient Egyptians.
Visitors can choose a roach and are allowed to take the artwork out of the museum. This is recorded by cameras and live-streamed at the Goldenroach website. In the guerilla action the artist tries to avoid cameras and security guards not to be caught on the spot. In this exhibition it is the vistitors who act somewhat at stealth.
At the core of his work the artist generates the question, what is a work of art? Is the whole Goldenroach army the art or only the one out of gold? Is art interpreted by judging just by location or the way of display? Will the Goldenroach piece taken home remain art or will become just decoration? Will the visitor, who finds the single gold Goldenroach see it as art or simply as a piece of gold?
