Robert Louis Stevenson based his fable Treasure Island on the deserted Pacific atoll, and for nearly 200 years, opportunists and adventurers have trawled its shores in search of the world's greatest undiscovered haul, the Treasure of Lima (opens in new tab), estimated to be worth up to £160 million.
Now, thanks to Vienna's Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (opens in new tab), it's official: there really is buried treasure on Isla del Coco. A 21st century cache of 40 works of art lies somewhere beneath Coco's rugged core. It consists of sculpture, LPs, video and sound files from the likes of Ed Ruscha, Lawrence Weiner, Doug Aitken and Marina Abramović - and it's sealed for eternity in a 1x1m bespoke aluminium chest designed by New York architects Aranda\Lasch.
On 13 November a second version of the chest, containing a map of coordinates to the location of the first, goes up for sale at Phillips in New York (opens in new tab) (current estimate: $150,000-$200,000). Yet the whereabouts should prove as challenging as that of Stevenson's 19th-century predecessor, for the 'map', a steel cylinder printed with 3D-laser sintering technology, has been encrypted with 1,700 figures by a top team of security whiz kids and requires a hacker to unravel it.
In the run-up to the auction, seven clues - created by artist Constant Dullaart, who also designed the map - will be posted across hacker sites, including one exclusive to Wallpaper.com (see gallery).
But here's the caveat: Thyssen-Bornemisza was granted permission from the Costa Rican government to bury the treasure on Isla del Coco on one condition – proceeds from the auction must go toward a local shark conservation project. Even then, in order to get his hands on the haul, the new owner will need to come over all Long John Silver. He'll have to sail 350 miles from the mainland across rough seas before docking - unauthorised - on the shores of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and bribe rangers to lead him to the X.
The ship's crew, the artists, curators and rangers signed a blood pact when they hid the chest. All the GPS coordinates were written by hand on paper and then burned. 'Burying the treasure required Fitzcarraldo-esque effort,' says TBA21 founder Francesca von Habsburg. 'Lots of the artists involved were drawn to the project as they wanted to create an exhibition that will never be seen. It's more valuable where it is.'
The architects created a special niche for the map, itself designed by Dutch artist Constant Dullaart. He collaborated with a leading German security analyst on state-of-the-art encryption and used 3D-laser sintering technology to create the a stainless-steel cylinder. Courtesy of TBA21 Academy and Aranda\Lasch. Photography: Hayley Giles
In the run-up to the auction, seven clues - created by artist Constant Dullaart, who also designed the map - will be posted across hacker sites (opens in new tab), including this one exclusive to Wallpaper.com
The endless character string communicates the exact position of the treasure. Courtesy of TBA21 Academy and Aranda\Lasch
The vacuum-sealed chest. Courtesy of TBA21 Academy and Aranda\Lasch
The encoded coordinates on the map lead to a chest of 40 artworks, buried on Isla del Coco in Costa Rica. The artists, curators, the ship's crew and the island's rangers signed a blood pact when they hid the chest. All the GPS coordinates were written by hand on paper and then burned. Courtesy of TBA21 Academy and Aranda\Lasch
ADDRESS
Phillips
450 Park Avenue
New York 10022
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS (opens in new tab)
-
Craig Green on his ‘decorated men’ and those hand-moulded leather accessories‘They are almost like a relic,’ says British designer Craig Green of the hand-moulded leather objects that appeared as part of his S/S 2023 collection, a musing on functionality and decoration
-
Wadi AlFann, AlUla’s new land art destination, is stirring creativity in the desert
Wadi AlFann – Saudi Arabia’s Valley of the Arts – hints at the scale of its ambition with an event in the desert for curators, artists and cultural leaders ahead of the completion of its site and first five artworks
-
Colin King ‘Arranging Things’ book is an essential read for interior design inspiration and wisdom
Colin King ‘Arranging Things’, a new book published by Rizzoli, is filled with exquisite interiors and useful advice on finding beauty in everyday environments
-
Adam Pendleton and Venus Williams unite to preserve Nina Simone’s childhood home in New York auction
Major contemporary artists will auction works in May 2023, with funds supporting the preservation of Nina Simone’s childhood home
-
‘George Club: Twenty Years in Mayfair’ offers art by David Hockney, Tracey Emin and more
Christie’s hosts an online charity auction of original artworks from the soon-to-reopen George in Mount Street, London, in support of the Caring Family Foundation
-
Buckhorn Sculpture Park: inside the art paradise dreamt up by collectors Sherry and Joel Mallin
As legendary art collectors Sherry and Joel Mallin prepare to sell their upstate New York home – and the star-studded collection occupying Buckhorn, its onsite sculpture park – we go behind the scenes of this art treasure trove, and the extraordinary life, work and spirit of the Mallins
-
Outside the box: Tracey Emin and Frank Bowling join artists in Bonhams’ charity sale for Cure Parkinson’s
Bonhams’ Cure3 selling exhibition includes NFTs and 2D works alongside signature Perspex cubes, from Tracey Emin, Yinka Shonibare, Frank Bowling, Random International and more, on display 13-17 January 2023, London
-
Christo’s final work revealed in Paris: L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped
Ahead of the official opening on 18 September 2021, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped has been revealed. At Sotheby’s, an exhibition (17 September to 3 October) captures preparations for the artist duo’s final work
-
Mandopop icon Jay Chou fuses art and entertainment
Mandopop star and art collector Jay Chou takes the curatorial reins of Sotheby’s inaugural Contemporary Curated auction series in Asia, transforming K11 into an art-studded film set
-
Masked artist series raises money for art therapy
Grayson Perry, Jenny Saville and Camille Walala are photographed for a new portrait series by Joanna Vestey, in support of art therapy charity AT The Bus
-
New photography reveals Christo's studio as he left it
Photographer Brigitte Lacombe visits the New York City studio of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, to shine a new light on the couple's works, possessions and living space ahead of the late artists' personal items going to auction
