Art forgery as smuggling
silver salt calotype, 2-MMC, 4-MMC,
brass frame,
dome-shaped glass, clothes, coffee, tea, dust, conservation wax
2025
The work features two forged photographs of nearly identical Venetian scenes taken by two different photographers at the end of the 19th century, at the rise of the demand for souvenir images. Printed with the calotype process, one of the earliest printing techniques, each photograph contains an illicit substance dissolved during the laborious developing process: 4MMC, a lab alternative to amphetamines often sold online. A label on the glass discloses its chemical formula, molar mass, and amount of substance contained within the work.
Framed in 19th-century dome-shaped frames, the photographs are suspended above a disordered pile of clothes and underwear, as if they had been found inside luggage during smuggling. The installation alludes to the contemporary use of artworks and images as unsuspected carriers for illegal substances across borders and legal thresholds, as documented in cases in which inmates received drugs dissolved into family photographs or postcards.
Installation view - Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam
Installation view - Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam
Installation view - Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam
Installation view - Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam
Detail - Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam