Treasures of Rhome

Technique: sculpture.
Exhibition available in several formats.

Joshua Goode travels the world staging archaeological digs. In these performances, he draws inspiration from amateur archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the city of Troy, as well as elaborate hoaxes, such as the Piltdown Man hoax. With the complicity of the scientific community, Joshua Goode
invents alternative stories and mythologies.

He "discovers" his own versions of historical artifacts, crafted from objects from his youth spent on Texas ranches (baseball cards, GI Joe figurines, POGS, etc.) and transforms them into ancient and emblematic objects of lost civilizations. A historian by training, he demonstrates the malleability of our past, present, and future.

“I created the fictional Aurora-Rhoman civilization based in Texas, inspired by the achievements of major historical figures. (…) My fake research institute, the Aurora-Rhoman Institute for Archaeology and Cultural Relics, examines the remains of my ancient civilization unearthed in locations around the world. I use my “discoveries” to manipulate and verify my invented civilization. The archaeological performance and installation begins with extensive historical research and ends with an exhibition. The discoveries and claims are false and absurdly comic, but based on real research.”