For Those Who Have Everything

Cultural Traffic releases Gold by Toby Mott, a sculptural book crafted in 22-karat pure gold. This book challenges traditional art and publishing norms, embodying both opulence and rebellion.

This work, devoid of content, defies expectations, standing in resistance to intellectual conformity. It values form over substance, embodying desire and nihilism, aligning with Mott’s rebellious roots and confronting convention head-on. Bound in 22-karat gold, it presents the timeless allure and intrinsic value of gold—an element of eternal beauty forged from the chaos of exploding stars.

True to Mott’s punk ethos, this sculptural object contains no text beyond the title and colophon, allowing its luxurious medium to convey both brilliance and defiance. Made with traditional and contemporary techniques, each blank book from Angel Press, Shoreditch, is primed with red oxide paint and gilded with Charbonnel oil size and gold leaf from Giusto Manetti Battiloro, Florence, sourced through Stuart R. Stevenson in Clerkenwell. The text is applied using matt dry transfer print, typeset in Work Sans and Bureau Grotesque.

Limited to 50 copies, released in sequences of 10, each book is numbered and signed by Mott.

Reveal the splendor and subversion of Toby Mott’s Gold—where timeless elegance meets the rebellious spirit of punk.

Toby Mott says, “With Gold, I aimed for pure beauty and raw rebellion, reflecting the spiritual and eternal qualities of gold.”

Mott is also known for his recent Dictator book series, exploring the aesthetics of political power, and his works documenting punk and counterculture, including Oh So Pretty: Punk in Print and Skinhead: An Archive. With Gold, Mott continues to probe provocative themes, using luxury as a platform to question and redefine value.

BOOK DETAILS Released by Cultural Traffic, London / Edition of 50 in sequences of 10 / Signed and numbered by Toby Mott / Book cover 5mm Katz Display Board cold glue lay flat binding with additional cloth spine tape / Duplexed 180gsm Extraprint uncoated paper, Angel Press, Shoreditch / Primed with red oxide and gilded with Giusto Manetti Battiloro, Florence 22 karat gold leaf / Supplied by royal warrant holder Stuart R. Stevenson, Clerkenwell / Typeset in Work Sans and Bureau Grotesque matt dry transfer print / Dimensions 310x230x15mm weight 500g