Brass (Nordic Gold: 89% Cu, 5% Al, 5% Zn, 1% Sn), 37,7 x 28,7 x 3,5 cm, Städtische Sammlung Erlangen
“Nordic gold” is the name of the alloy from which the gold-colored coins used to pay in the eurozone are made. Conceptual artist Alicja Kwade prefers to work with auratically charged materials, such as marble, glass and precious metals - including real gold. “Nordic gold” was originally developed for the Swedish 10-krona piece. Numerous coins appear to have already been removed from the framed metal plate. Or have the ones that are there now been added? The title of the work plays with precisely this idea: “Captain's Mistress” is the English name for the game known in Germany as “Vier gewinnt” (four wins), in which two people try to form a row of four coin-sized chips in a vertical grid first. The artist thus poses questions about individual, material or non-material values and how we deal with them.
