DROPPING A PLATE is an iconoclastic conceptual performance series appropriating Chinese dissident artist and activist Ai Wei Wei’s work “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn” (1995). Rather than antique cultural treasures or expensive artworks different normal plates, mass-produced as souvenirs, memorabilia, household goods or plate-like artworks get destroyed or lost in various locations worldwide. It is also a homage to Manuel Salvisberg “Fragments of History” (2012) depicting the world’s foremost collector of contemporary Chinese art and Switzerland’s former ambassador to Beijing Uli Sigg dropping Ai Wei Wei’s famed Coca Cola Urn. More in: artasiapacific.com/Magazine/78/DevastatingHistory

DISCLAIMER: theory & legal practice concerning destroy mundane everyday objects or artworks concerning this appropriation may be appropriately expressed by a poem of by DJ Enright:

Vandalism | Since the object in question is a modern poem, / A police spokesperson stated yesterday, / It is hard to tell whether it has been damaged / Or not or how badly.

Dropping a Plate 07 | MONETA [Very Ugly Plates, 2019] | Bank entrance, Austria 2019

In between cause and effect of economic policy full of automated monetary services. Sticks’ n carrots distribution center, temple of verifiable records in the background.. Video, 1min, FullHD (stills & video)

“Moneta” was a title given to two separate goddesses: the goddess of memory (identified with the Greek goddess “Mnemosyne”, the mother of muses) and an epithet of Juno, called “Juno Moneta” in Roman mythology. The latter’s name is source of numerous words in English and the Romance languages, including the words “money” and “mint”. The goddess’s name is derived from Latin monēre (which means to remind, warn, or instruct). The epithet Moneta given to Juno more likely derives from the Greek word “moneres” (“μονήρης”) and means “alone, unique”. “Moneta” retained the meanings of “money” and “die” well into the Middle Ages and appeared often on minted coins. The plate is a work of a Polish female artist adding text to second-hand wall plates she finds: www.veryuglyplates.de/

Dropping a Plate 06 | AMBASSADRESS [Lady Di memorial plate] | Bridge in Venice, Italy 2019

In between two sides of a canal next to a square full of tourists. Boats and houses on pillars in the background. Video, 1min, FullHD (Stills)

Dropping a Plate 05 | PIRATA [Milan Tourist plate] | Allure of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, USA, 2018

In between Bahamas and Puerto Rico in historical waters full of drowned soldiers of fortune. The Caribbean sea in the background. Video, 1min, FullHD (stills)

Dropping a Plate 04 | SERENISSIMA [Venetian Tourist plate] | Berlin, Germany, 2017

Residential, gentrified area in Berlin full of foreigners as neighbours. Fallen tree after a storm and destroyed fence in the background. Video, 1min, FullHD (stills)

Dropping a Plate 03 | AMPHORA  [Supermarket plate] | Lipari, Aeolian Islands, Italy, 2017

Archeological site full of antique shipwrecks with sunken international merchandise. Volcano Stromboli in the background. Video, 1min, FullHD (stills)

Dropping a Plate 02 | REPUBBLICA  [Souvenir plate San Marino] | Republic of San Marino, 2016

Independent state within a state in the European Union, full of banks and financial services. Cable car to the top of San Marino in the background. Video, 1min, FullHD (stills)

Dropping a Plate 01 | CHINA [Chinese plate, 1968] | Beijing, 2015

Revolutionary Mao-era theatre scene, white haired woman and dancing man full of propaganda iconography. Concrete basement in the background. Video, 1min, 4k (stills)