OBLIVION COLLECTION
Art history has been written thanks to what millenias have bequeathed us. Museum storerooms are overflowing with artifacts, objects and artworks that have survived uncertainties, turbulences and tragedies. What about the ones that have failed to present themselves to our contemporary eyes? Whether stolen and never found back, lost over the centuries, vandalised out of misunderstanding, or even destroyed by a natural disasters, every missing work is significant about our own construction of History.
Numerous researchers and scholars have looked into these loss, always through the prism of a specific lens, such as revolutionary iconoclastic periods, destruction linked to colonization, or even vandalism of contemporary art. Those researches has unfortunately little opportunity to meet, confront and nourish each other, which is why we have imagined Oblivion Collection.
Oblivion Collection is an online archive project that attempts to sketch a history of art through what millenias have removed from our eyes. If the adages teaches us that history is written bu the victorious, Oblivion Collection offers the losers, the invisibles, the disappeared, the chance to exist in a new form, and to write an history of their own. Any attempt to write History is, by definition, incomplete, that’s why it is essential for this project to be collective and participatory, in order to multiply as many points of views and ways of collecting informations as possible.
Oblivion Collection has no limit. No geographical or chronological restrictions allows us to turn this collection into a vault, the ultimate location of works that are supposed to be forgotten. Gathering together this collection of missing works is a way of overcoming the taboo surrounding the loss of works of art. Every institution, artist and collection have, alas, experienced the loss of an artwork. Yet few people speak out publicly about these losses. Oblivion Collection's aim is to become the place where all these disappearances are collected and remembered.
By inviting scholars, thinkers, institutions, artists, and individuals to complete this collection, we hope to help rethinking the way we write our common narrative, and reimagining our relationship to objects and images. We are planning to publish an online database gathering more than 10 000 notices by the end of 2024. This database will be accessible online and modifiable by any and will allow visitors to rediscover many artworks thanks to the power of hyperlinks. Several events are also being organised to bring those lost artworks back to life.
HOW ARE YOU COLLECTING ARTWORKS ?
There are numerous databases, government reports and scientific publications detailing the disappearance of artworks. Some are more accessible than others. We read them and gather all the information on the loss of “original artworks” in order to classify and organize them. We have set up a form so artists can document their own disappearances. We’ve come up with other formats, such as workshops, hackathons and collaborations with libraries, which we'll be activating as soon as possible.
HOW DO YOU KNOW AN ARTWORK IS ACTUALLY AN “ORIGINAL ARTWORK” ?
Philosophy has never been able to define what an original work of art is, but we have had to limit the scope of our research. We consider an “original artwork” to be any work produced by one or more people for no other purpose than itself. Our collection brings together all works that have been removed from our view,thus, multiples (prints, serigraphs, books, etc.) are not included, unless we are certain that all editions have vanished. Similarly, we have chosen not to include furniture or design dating from after the first industrial revolution, as it is very complicated to know whether an object was mass-produced or not. Our knowledge in this field is unfortunately limited, but if anyone with a certain expertise would like to enlighten us, they’re more than welcome!
HOW AN ARTWORK IS CONSIDERED AS “LOST” ?
We consider an artwork to be lost as soon as it has been removed from our view, in other words, as soon as it is officially considered to be missing, destroyed, stolen or damaged. When a work is destroyed, during a conflict or a natural disaster for example, and it is possible to find a declaration stating that it has been destroyed, it is then included to the database. Restored artworks are not considered as destroyed, even if the restoration is described by some people as "bad". Only unrestored works are considered damaged. If a work is lost, this is generally due to negligence on the part of the institution responsible for its conservation. Works belonging to private collectors and lying dormant in a storage in a free port are not " missing " because they may reappear at a sale or an exhibition. Stolen works may also reappear at any time, but this is generally an exception, which is why we include them in the database.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS CLASSIFICATION ?
Classification rhymes with simplification. We are aware that our classification makes it difficult to represent the full diversity of the disappearance of artworks. However, it is essential to categorize these disappearances as neutrally as possible, so that the works can be connected to each other, and thereby facilitate their (re)discovery. We’re always open to suggestions, so please drop us a line if you’d like to take part in the wonderful adventure that is Oblivion Collection.
WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT ?
Why hasn’t anyone done this before?
HOW CAN I HELP ?
As an artist, you can document the disappearance of your own works of art. Anyone who wants to help us can join our collective, because we need help to feed the database, to imagine new tools for gathering information, to improve the quality of the information. You can help us from anywhere in the world, even for a few hours a month, by listing the information contained in a book or contacting a public collection near you to open up its data.
CAN I GET AN ARTWORK REMOVED FROM THE COLLECTION ?
If we have published one of your works, it’s only because it has been published elsewhere! If you don’t want your missing artwork to be remembered, you can write us and we’ll remove it.
WHAT’S NEXT ?
The database of 10,000 works will be published in autumn 2024. We are currently working on the exhibition project “Liquidation totale” with the pal project gallery to raise fundings. We have lots of ideas for events, workshops, and exhibitions. We’re open to all kinds of collaboration and we have plenty of ideas.
WHO IS BEHIND OBLIVION COLLECTION ?
Oblivion Collective has been constituted by Arthur Francietta (artist), William Ndedi (developer) and Andy Rankin (curator). We were established as a non-profit association under the French law of 1901 on February 20, 2024 in Paris. Our RNA number is W751273061.