CNN, 2002

This sculptural edition by Thomas Hirschhorn features a gaudy gold-painted chain with a large “CNN” pendant – an unmistakable emblem of global media. Fashioned from Hirschhorn’s characteristic low-grade materials like cardboard, foil, and tape, the piece exemplifies his strategy of "cheapness" not just as aesthetic, but as conceptual methodology. The oversized, handmade quality of the necklace references “bling” culture – luxury consumerism associated with hip-hop and pop iconography – yet it’s rendered in unmistakably crude craft, turning ostentation into critique. The use of CNN, a media titan, as the pendant ties the sculpture to themes of information saturation, power, and spectacle. As with his other “chain” pieces, Hirschhorn plays with symbolic dissonance. Here, global capitalism, pop culture, and mass media are compressed into a single, absurdly monumental object. It’s at once humorous and biting, elevating what might appear as kitsch into a complex reflection on value, representation, and the political economy of visibility.