"Throwing Beer Cans in the Art Museum"... Employee 'Oops' After Discarding Them in the Trash Can

French Artist Alexandre Labb?'s Work
"Takes a Lot of Time and Effort to Create"

At a museum in the Netherlands, an incident occurred where a staff member mistakenly threw away an artwork made from beer cans, thinking it was trash, but it was later retrieved.

On the 8th (local time), according to the British daily The Guardian, the LAM Museum in Lisse near Amsterdam announced that they immediately recovered the artwork after a staff member mistook it for garbage and discarded it.

Alexandre Labb?'s work 'All the Good Times We Spent Together'.
[Image source=Labb? official website]

The piece thrown into the trash bin is by French artist Alexandre Labb?, titled "All the good times we spent together." At first glance, it looks like two empty beer cans, but upon closer inspection, it is meticulously painted with acrylic paint to capture fine details. The museum explained, "It took a lot of time and effort to create."

Labb? is known to have conceived this work to preserve precious memories shared with friends. While an evening spent enjoying a beer may seem trivial, it can represent a moment of invaluable connection.

However, the artwork was displayed on the museum floor, causing confusion. The person who threw the piece into the trash was an elevator technician who had recently started working at the museum. Elisa Vandenberg, the museum curator, discovered the artwork missing after returning from a short break and found it in the trash bin.

The LAM Museum is known for occasionally exhibiting artworks in unconventional locations. Museum director Sietske van Zanten said, "Art encourages visitors to see everyday objects from a new perspective," adding, "By displaying artworks in unexpected places, we amplify this experience and provoke visitors' curiosity." Labb?'s artwork is scheduled to be exhibited in another location within the museum.