Calls for objects stolen during the colonial period to be
returned to their places of origin have intensified in recent years, and
Western institutions have sent items back to countries including Nigeria and
Benin.
Chidi Nwaubani, the founder of Looty, described his project
as an alternative form of repatriation, by which digital technologies are used
to reclaim a measure of control and ownership over artifacts still held far
from Africa.
"Imagine a world where these items were never
looted," Nwaubani told Reuters in an interview. "We're just trying to
reimagine that world and bring that world into the digital form."
The process begins with what Nwaubani called a "digital
art heist", a perfectly legal procedure in which a Looty team member goes
to a museum and scans a target object using technology that can be used to create
a 3D image.
An NFT of the image is created and put up for sale via the
Looty website, which also acts as an online gallery where anyone can view the
images for free. Nwaubani said 20 percent of the proceeds of NFT sales would go
towards grants for African artists aged 25 or under.
NFTs are a type of digital asset that allows anyone to
verify who owns them.
The website launched on May 13 and although there were no
immediate sales, Nwaubani has received messages of interest from around the
world.
Looty's first NFTs are based on an image of one of the Benin
Bronzes that were looted by British troops in 1897 from what is now Nigeria and
are held in the British Museum in London.
"Knowing that it's Nigerian but it lives outside of
Nigeria has always troubled me. So I felt that there's something that we could
do to change that," said Nwaubani.
Looty's next big project is focused on an Ancient Egyptian
item, Nwaubani said, declining to give further details.
The name Looty refers to the act of looting and is also a playful
homage to the dog Looty, which was found by a British captain after troops
looted the Summer Palace near Beijing in 1860, taken back to London and
presented to Queen Victoria. © Reuters