It Wasn't Just Dust... Volunteer Damages Art Museum Exhibit by Wiping Mirror

Volunteer Damages Artwork with Tissue Paper

A volunteer at an art museum in Taiwan accidentally damaged an artwork on display by wiping its surface. The title of the piece is "Dusty Mirror."

According to foreign media outlets such as the Central News Agency (CNA) and Taiwan News, the incident occurred on November 4 during a special contemporary art exhibition at the Keelung Art Museum in Keelung City, Taiwan. On the fifth day of the exhibition, a volunteer affiliated with the Keelung City Department of Cultural Affairs and Tourism was patrolling the gallery when they mistakenly thought the dust on the surface of a mirror installation by Taiwanese artist Chen Songzhi was dirt and wiped it off with tissue paper.

The appearance of the 'dusty mirror' before damage. Photo captured from the Facebook page of the Keelung City Department of Cultural Affairs and Tourism, Taiwan.

This installation, created using building materials and household items, consists of a dust-covered mirror placed on a wooden board. The stains and dust on the mirror were intentional elements by the artist. According to local reports, the dust and stains on the mirror symbolize the persistence and transformation of humanity amid the passage of time and changes in space, and serve as an expression reflecting the cultural consciousness of the middle class.

Museum staff immediately intervened to stop the volunteer, but the artwork had already been damaged. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Tourism promptly apologized to both the exhibition planning team and the artist, and held an emergency discussion regarding further measures. However, it has been reported that restoring the artwork to its original state is impossible. Some critics have suggested that the accidental wiping should be left as part of the work itself.

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Tourism stated, "We are fully aware that, no matter how deeply we apologize to the artist, we cannot completely compensate for the damage inflicted on his creative work," adding that they are currently discussing follow-up measures with the artist. The department also announced plans to regularly conduct educational programs for staff and volunteers on the appreciation and preservation of artworks.

Meanwhile, accidental damage to artworks on display occurs from time to time. In 2021, a visitor damaged a graffiti piece by JonOne worth approximately 500 million won during the "Street Noise" exhibition at Lotte World Tower Mall in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The visitor, who was reportedly part of a couple, used a brush placed in front of the artwork as decoration to splatter paint onto the piece. Those who damaged the work reportedly said, "Since there was graffiti on the wall and brushes and paint were present, we thought we were allowed to add our own marks."

In 2023, a visitor also damaged Maurizio Cattelan's "Comedian" at the Leeum Museum of Art. This artwork, which features a banana duct-taped to a wall, made headlines after selling for over 100 million won at an art fair in 2019. The visitor in question claimed, "I was hungry," and removed the banana from the wall to eat it, then taped the peel back onto the wall. The Leeum Museum of Art regarded the incident as an unexpected happening, took no special action, and continued the exhibition by replacing the banana with a new one.