Gods of Money 001 – Confiscated

In February 2017, a sea container full with contemporary artworks on its way from Nairobi to Paris was checked by Kenyan customs in Nairobi. As much as approximately more than 100 contemporary artworks from many artists based in Kenya were in the container, the authorities were only interested in 5 works of the Gods of Money series.

Those 5 artworks, parts of an art installation, were declared unlawful and confiscated, together with the accompanying installation materials. The Kenyan customs said that official charges would be put against as well the owners of the container as against the artist who made the works. Again, those were RxAxLxF’s works. Though, weeks and months passed and no official charges were put in place. Being in Kenya, RxAxLxF took an active approach and contacted each and every possible Kenyan Government agency who could be involved in the case to find out about the case. Again, only verbal rumours came to his ears, similar to those of the first censoring at the Kenyan Art Fair: disrespect of & unlawful use of Kenyan currency and the application of witchcraft.

More than half a year later, the artworks with all accompanying materials were returned in full to RxAxLxF by the Kenyan Government, without any explanation and therefore also without the artworks being declared ‘illegal’ in any way.

Gods of Money 005 – Confiscated

Some rumours said, that the confiscation was actually not about the artworks in question. But that the drama around the artworks might be related to RxAxLxF’s documentary project about City Cotton and the struggle with ‘The Powers that Be’.
To make the circle of fantastic rumours completely round, this time RxAxLxF was told by a Kenyan Government official that the spiritual powers of the artworks were used to raise money for the ongoing re-election campaign of the Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta while the artworks were in custody of the Kenyan Government. As the old African religions are still prohibited in Kenya by British colonial law labeling them witchcraft, it would have not been possible for President Kenyatta to acquire the artworks officially.

If this rumour would be true, RxAxLxF could have felt actually honoured as acknowledgement of the special powers he has put into the works, if the artworks were not taken by force from him.