Colombia-born, Sweden-based artist Hank Grüner presents High Hopes and Lies at the Selfridges Art Block, transforming the site into a ritualised environment where architecture becomes cosmology and speculative myth unfolds. The commission marks the 10th artwork in the Art Block series, following projects by artists including Rory Mullen, William Cobbing, Mel Brimfield, Gray Wielebinski, Holly Hendry and Matthew Darbyshire. Treating the Art Block as a theatrical stage, Grüner has created a self-contained ritual world anchored by three monumental sculptures, each standing over two meters tall. Constructed from plaster and resin with collage elements, Cactacuha occupies the central plinth, flanked by Hulhacta and Agagua in the vitrines to either side.
At the feet of each figure sit sand altars bearing resin offerings of maize, shells and birds. The figures merge human, ancient and otherworldly forms, each playing a distinct role within Grüner’s evolving mythology. Cactacuha acts as the gravitational center — a conflicted leader positioned between collapse and regeneration. Hulhacta embodies the trickster, embracing chaos as a necessary force for transformation, while Agagua channels optimism, renewal and the joyful potential of change.