The Column by Adrian Paci

The Column is an artwork by Albanian-born and naturalised Italian artist Adrian Paci and is a twenty-five-minute video made in 2013 taking place on a ship departing from a marble quarry in China and directed towards Europe. The short movie follows a group of Chinese workers as they sculpt a marble block on a moving ship and transform it into a Corinthian column ready to be exhibited at the renowned art centre Jeu de Paume in Paris, France. Paci pays for and oversees the whole production: from the extraction in Bejing to the sea voyage, until its arrival ends showing at the Jeu de Paume. This brief yet poignant piece opens discussions on some of today’s critical concerns: globalisation, labour outsourcing, Western exploitation of migrant workers and a voracious consumer appetite for material goods.