A blue suitcase left behind by a Belfast man. For this work I revisited the Dadaist tradition of the objet trouvè by offering for sale a 'suspicious object' that one could not own but only look after for an unspecified period of time. The suitcase was locked and the prospective buyer would have no idea of its content. This work would be sold on two conditions: that the suitcase must never be opened and that it must be returned to its owner if he came back to reclaim it.
Art (and) Trust. Would I trust the collector? Would the collector trust me? Art (and) Money. Would anybody buy an art work which might lose its material underpinning?
These soon became rhetorical questions, as nobody showed any interest in buying this piece.
As the Belfast man never showed up again, I decided to open the suitcase and satisfy my curiosity. Among his belongings was an air ticket showing that he had travelled from Belfast to Milan via Amsterdam, and several copies of An Phoblacht/Republican News.
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