Looty

This installation features the world’s first digital repatriation of stolen art, comprised of digital remnants of looted objects from prestigious institutions located primarily in the Global North. Using LiDAR technology, Looty digitally records these artefacts, renders them in 3D, and tokenises them on the blockchain as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This procedure, ‘digital restitution’, enables Looty to avoid bureaucratic procedures and enter the digital sphere, making it simpler for anyone to acquire and study these cultural items.
For today’s younger generation of African students, artists, architects, and creatives, access to our ancestral cultural production is limited. Unable to travel to or visit institutions, it is becoming more and more difficult to connect with their rightful heritage. Current debates rage endlessly around whether artefacts should be physically returned; Looty have taken matters into their own hands.

Technical collaborators
Owo Anietie (Digital Artist), Ayesha Quraishi (Composer/Multidisciplinary Artist), Keleenna Onyeaka (Photography/Videography), Itohan Emonvomwan (Video Editor), Joel Atkinson (3D Concept Visual), Emma MacNay (Creative Producer)
With the additional support of
African Futures Institute