Cockroaches in Bling: 14-Karat Gold Creepy-Crawlies Get Smuggled Into Museums

Artist Miklós Kiss has dipped her handmade cockroaches in gold and smuggled them into art museums across the globe.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Finding a cockroach inside your home is basically the bane of every city dweller's existence—just ask any New Yorker. Budapest-based artistMiklós Kiss, however, has found something redeemable about the hated insect.

"People treat the roach as a synonym for disgust because of the common repugnance it causes," he explains. "But at the same time, as an insect which is capable of adapting [to] the most extreme situations, it is a symbol of survival." For this reason, he has created thousands of handmade cockroach replicas and dipped them in gold. He then proceeded to smuggle the miniature sculptures into museums across the globe, incorporating them into existing art exhibitions and encouraging each visitor to snatch up one of the golden-hued insects as part of a guerrilla art movement. The twist? Most of the cockroaches are made from painted metals, but one of them has actually been crafted from real, 14 carat gold!

While the mere likeness of the abominable creature is still enough to make anyone squeamish, the idea of taking home a piece of real gold is pretty enticing.

[via DesignBoom]

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