042

Arte Útil archive nr:

042

Initiator:

Ruben Santiago

Location:

Spain, France

Category:

politics, economy, social

Users:

The persons that took the documents

Maintained by:

Passage Souterrain

Certification:

implemented

Duration:

2007 - ongoing

Ruben Santiago
-
ID: a criminal project

Description:

The work involves collecting passports, identity documents and credit cards, from robberies carried out by burglars in the small streets in the old centre of
Barcelona. These places, due to their morphology, are the ideal setting for this type of crime. 25 of these documents were camouflaged as artistic objects and transported in Paris with the aid of a company specialising in artwork transport, to be displayed in the walls of Passage Souterrain – becoming available material for anyone who may wish to take them, recovering their criminal origin.

Goals:

Transform the artistic system into a screen to conceal crime, as the possession of this material is a criminal activity in itself held against the state (the documents do not belong to the individuals, but to the state) and therefore, a punishable offence.

Beneficial Outcomes:

All the documents were taken by Passage Souterrain visitors.

Images: