Brazilian Art Student Trades Coin at British Museum in Protest of Colonial Artefacts

A Brazilian artist replaced an English civil war coin with a fake one at the British Museum last month as part of a conceptual art project.

The incident follows news from the previous year when the museum announced that hundreds of items had gone missing from its collection.

Ile Sartuzi, who filmed the stunt for his master’s degree at Goldsmiths, University of London, titled his project “Sleight of Hand.” The project took over a year of preparation, involving legal advice, architectural studies, and numerous visits to the museum.

Sartuzi’s project was on display at Goldsmiths’ Ben Pimlott Building until 16 July. It featured a video installation, a display with two fake coins, and a text documenting the theft and return of the original coin.

The artist took a 1645 silver coin minted in Newark from its display case in Room 68 of the British Museum during a volunteer guide-led demonstration on 18 June. He then replaced it with a replica and deposited the original coin in a change donation box downstairs.

The museum strongly condemned the act, stating, “This is a disappointing and derivative act that abuses a volunteer-led service aimed at giving visitors the opportunity to handle real items and engage with history.” A spokesperson added, “Services like this rely on a basic level of human decency and trust and it would be a shame to have to review such services due to actions like this.”

The coin was part of a collection intended for educational purposes, including interactive sessions with visitors.

Sartuzi and his lawyer argue that his actions do not violate museum policies, which prohibit the handling or removal of objects, nor do they fall under the Theft Act of 1968.

Defending his actions, Sartuzi criticized the imperialist history of institutions like the British Museum, which he claims hold treasures looted from the global south.

He told Hyperallergic that he believes his work “opens a discussion around theft and looting in both a historical context and from a neocolonial perspective within contemporary cultural institutions.”

The Independent has reached out to Sartuzi for comment.

Source: Hyperallergic, The Independent