Rachel Jackson


TITLE:DESCRIPTION:YEAR:
On the Appointed Day, the Sun sets in the
Notch Opposite the House of Worship
Photosculpture

Hydrographic transfer of Adobe Stock granite texture image on polylactic acid 3d print with found image of false artifact

16 x 16 x 5”

2024
Within the span of four years, two inscribed artifacts were recovered from the shores of the Lackawaxen River in northeastern Pennsylvania. The first was discovered in 1970 by Donald Ness, the owner of a service station, who immediately loaded the rock into his truck and consulted a local archaeologist. The archaeologist, Dr. Vernon Leslie, concluded that the artifact was likely a forgery intended to attract attention to portions of the scientific community pursuing evidence of possible pre-columbian exploration of North America. In 1974, a second stone was unearthed by a teenager wading in the river. Featuring similar inscriptions, it depicted geometric text, mountains, a sun, and a scattering of trees on its surface. Different archaeologists were consulted and concluded that the writing on the stone was ancient Iberian script, translated to read, “on the appointed day, the sun sets in the notch opposite the house of worship.” Despite this, both stones have ultimately been dismissed by the academic community as false artifacts. 

The false artifact holds both a speculative power in its capacity to alter a canonically held interpretation of history and its potential to circulate within a global market. It attempts to conceal its fabrication by adopting the familiar qualities of other artifacts, disguising itself as something superficially passable. It implores viewers to place it within a lineage of objects they have seen before, asking them to believe that it too, fits. It relies upon collective memory, derived dually from institutional research and mass culture, to advance its agenda.




SIDE VIEW

FRONT VIEW


Image of Dr. Vernon Leslie examining the mysterious inscribed rock, 1970