Hello and welcome to another episode of the Perception Podcast with me your host Caroline Partridge. In this week's episode, I talk to multidisciplinary artist, digital innovator and creator of pioneering 'Looty Art' the brilliant Chidi Nwaubani. In this illuminating and inspiring conversation, Chidi recounts the inception of Looty, and how he devised an extraordinary plan to successfully 'steal back' the Benin Bronzes from the British Museum in a daring heist. We look at the traumatic history how of many artefacts were stolen, and how not only their meaning and significance are altered once they are displaced, but how the culture they came from is forever changed. We also look forward to how future generations are in the position to be able to rewrite historical narratives and reclaim their cultural heritage through art and technology. Please join me as we look at life through a truly fascinating lens. 

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• 90-95% of African cultural heritage is held outside of Africa, with the British Museum possessing the most stolen artefacts, including the Benin Bronzes.
• Nwaubani initiated the Looty project to digitally repatriate stolen artefacts, starting with a daring heist at the British Museum to 3D scan the Benin Bronzes.
• The digital versions of the artefacts are tokenised as NFTs, with 20% of sales going into a fund to support artists in Nigeria, addressing both repatriation and reparations.
• Artefacts lose their original context and meaning when displaced from their native cultures, becoming mere objects in museums rather than spiritually significant pieces.
• Museums often present a limited, Eurocentric narrative of artefacts, failing to acknowledge the full history and cultural importance of the pieces.
• Nwaubani's work with the Rosetta Stone, or Hajar Rashid, involved digitally repatriating the artefact to its original location in Rashid, Egypt, and rebuilding the complete stone digitally.
• The younger generation, particularly in Africa, has the opportunity to rewrite historical narratives and reclaim their cultural heritage through art and technology.

BEST MOMENTS

"Imagine somebody robbed you and then the next day they create a law saying anything that was robbed on, you know, anything that, that has been robbed prior to this day is now basically it's legal and it's ours."

"It's not just about repatriation. It's also about reparations."

"The museum is a place of imprisonment, actually. And it's a place of projecting a particular narrative."

"It begins with a heroic act. And it's almost a way of rewriting that story again."

"That's all essentially that we're trying to do is to change the way people look at this and view this."

"Vision is an act of interpretation and it's affecting people's way that they're interpreting things."

 

ABOUT THE GUEST

Blog

Chidi Nwaubani, the founder of Looty, is a visionary designer, artist and tech practitioner. His contributions have been recognised at the Venice Biennale Architecture 2023 and featured in BBC News, Reuters, and The New York Times, among other publications. As a member of Snapchat’s Lens Creator Network, Chidi experiments with XR/AR, sculpture and installations to redefine digital arts. Looty’s genesis reflects Chidi’s vision to empower artists and reimagine ideas of memorialising history and culture. Chidi is a member of the African Futures Institute’s “Pinpoint,” an archive of the top 100+ innovative African and African diaspora practitioners created by Lesley Lokko . His insights contribute to the ongoing dialogue about the role of art, technology, and culture.

Socials & Contact

Twitter @mr_chids

Instagram @chidi.co

www.chidi.co

@lootynft

www.looty.art

Chidi Nwaubani

Founder & Lead Creative

Looty

 

CONTACT METHOD

FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/caropartridge

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-partridge-03131520

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/partridge_caroline