I felt my heart leap into my throat when i discovered this on Netflix. I remember reading about the Damien Hirst exhibition when it was first put on display in Venice and the incredible longing I had to see it. The narrative built around the pieces is very romantic, with “artifacts” being discovered from the ancient world in a shipwreck with mythological basis. I mean, who doesn’t love a good treasure discovery story?

Truly, the narrative built around Hirst’s exhibit is awesome, in the true sense of the word. This mockumentary feels so real, even as I know that this wreck is very much not real. It’s staggering that Hirst went to such lengths to first create the pieces in this exhibit, create this narrative, put the pieces into the water and take them all back out again while also creating this mockumentary. It’s absolutely fascinating and incredible that this is a companion piece to the exhibit in this way. It’s a convergence of new media and a modern take or tribute to ancient media.

The actors on this are phenomenal. I don’t know what the ratio is between actual, real experts are and who is an actor, but I do get the feeling that the large speaking parts are actors and they’re so good in their parts. It’s very believable.

It’s very subtle about how it shows you that this isn’t a real documentary. They never really come out and tell you that none of it is real. It’s only at the end when they show the entire exhibit in Venice, that they show you the pieces of the exhibit that have a golden transformer toy or a coral covered version of the iconic Walt Disney and Mickey statue, that one would probably start to realize that none of this is real.