A Modest Proposal

Pump House Gallery presents A Modest Proposal (in a Black Box), an exhibition by Belgian artist duo Vermeir & Heiremans. Developed over the past two years, the new work investigates the possibility of financialising public art collections, museum real estate and symbolic capital. In collaboration with financial sector workers, lawyers and academic researchers, the artists are developing a financial model, in which value generated by artistic practices is distributed more sustainably amongst all stakeholders. In their first UK exhibition since 2009, the artists have developed several exhibition and research elements including video, installation and a display of archival material. The exhibition centres on the financial model, held on a USB stick that is itself enclosed within a 3D-printed metal lattice structure, only reachable should one break the edifice. A promotional video introduces the model and the benefits and opportunities it offers to a variety of stakeholders. Archival material is presented, alongside the video, to create a parallel narrative about real estate and land speculation since the Victorian era. Centered around this financial model, the exhibition invites us to consider the dynamics between art and the economy, and the value of culture in between. Luke Mason appeared as a principal actor in the films on display in the exhibition and co-wrote the script of those films