Golden Pawn

Installation by Jane Rainwater at The Porter Gallery, Cambridge, MA, June 22- July 1.

There are many ways one can value gold: physical value, market driven value and sentimental value. Unlike other commodities, the inner glow and magic associated with gold throughout history contributes to a symbolic value way beyond gold’s physical cost.

Golden Pawn investigates the value and ultimate devaluation of gold. Objects of “value” are placed in Golden Pawn, stripping them of all sentimental attachment. Each object’s tragic story of desperation and lost dreams become meaningless, as it has been exchanged for cash.

Mostly everything in Golden Pawn is waste, the recycled detritus of society’s demands for the new and the shiny. Many of these objects are broken and useless but are given a desirable value with a golden skin that hides the scars of use and abuse.