Marcus Vergette is an artist whose work embraces sculpture, video, performance and music. He was born in Carbondale, Illinois, USA, in 1961, and moved to Britain in 19??. He has acted as lecturer at Chelsea College of Art and Design and Falmouth College of Arts and given talks on his art in Hungary and the USA. His work has been seen in group exhibitions around Britain and in the Thinking big show at the Guggenheim Museum in Venice (September 2002 – January 2003), and he has had solo exhibitions in London, the British west country, and Washington, D.C. Public commissions have come from Britain, as well as from Yerevan, Armenia; Brookline, New Hampshire, USA; and the Czech Republic. His work is represented in Tate Modern, London. A performance piece, Unique Repetitions, has been featured on BBC Radio 3. About his BAMS medal, the artist writes: ‘Hold Me Back is the first medal I have made, and the first time I have used text in my work. My recent work has used direct techniques like carving and forging, and I wanted to continue this in making a medal. While thinking about the medal I recalled medieval pilgrim badges stamped from tin. Each one is similar but different, with the entire story of its making contained in the scratches, tool marks, and distortions to the metal as it was banged out of a single sheet. The back of these badges, unconsidered during their making, seemed to have a very direct connection with the person who did the work and to reveal more in their absence than the bulging surface of the front.’