The artist Sean Lynch tackles the legal status of metal detectorists in his native Ireland in The Weight of the World, his new exhibition on show across two sites from next month: Phoenix Exeter and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter (14 May-2 July). This weighty topic is on Lynch’s mind after the Irish government placed a blanket ban on the use of metal detectors under the National Monuments (Amendment) Act of 1987 (finding buried treasure became an issue, with the legislation banning the use of detection devices at or near archaeological sites). Lynch’s new work, Campaign to Change the National Monuments Acts (2016), is “akin to a promotional video, [and] advocates for a change in these authoritarian laws”, says a press statement (the film touches on ideas such as liberty and state regulation). Visitors to last year’s Venice Biennale who missed out on Lynch’s presentation at the Ireland Pavilion can also catch a video work from the Adventure: Capital installation.
