In order to see this exhibition, you must sail two days from Costa Rica to an unspoiled island in the Pacific Ocean, jump into a school of hammerhead sharks, and make your way to shore, all without being crushed against the island's rocks. Once on the island, you have to use an encrypted map to dig for the works of art.
"Treasure of Lima: A Buried Exhibition," which is more expedition than exhibition, was put together by TBA21 Academy with the goals "to bring artists and scientists together at sea, to engage with ecological issues, while steering clear of picturesque cliches and documentary exposés," according to Nadim Samman, who helped bury the artwork. The art show takes place on the Isla de Coco, a remote island, where, paradoxically, treasure hunting is illegal.
For the exhibition, Samman and a team of scientists and artists buried a capsule designed by New York architects Aranda/Lasch. The modern-day version of a treasure chest, the capsule is filled with small multi-media works by 30 artists, including Marina Abramovic and Ed Ruscha.
TBA21 will auction off the chance to see this ambitious exhibition, with the money going to shark research and a conservation project. The lucky buyer will get a chance to travel to the island and (hopefully) find the treasure. If this wasn't tough enough, Dutch artist Constant Dullaart digitally encrypted the treasure map needed to find the capsule of artwork.
Also, because treasure hunting is illegal, this puts the buyer in an uncomfortable position: "They will have legally acquired some of the means by which to recover an amazing art collection; but in order to claim it, they may have to break the law. Which treasure matters more to them: the island or the art?"
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[via The Guardian]
