Metaverse
This statue of a 16-plumed bird of paradise asks questions about the nature of fact and fiction. Through accompanying text, Ryan Gander tells a fictitious, convoluted tale involving the real-life Maurice Egerton (1874–1958), the fourth Baron Egerton. In the story, avid explorer Egerton returns from an expedition to New Guinea and announces that he has discovered a rare bird of paradise. He presents his findings to the Queen of England, and newspapers run the story to much fanfare. Through this fabricated narrative concerning the Baron, Gander contemplates the often-blurred line between fact and fiction, implicitly asking whether it is always necessary to be completely truthful.