Can we own a piece of the moon? This question was raised yesterday at the panel with the duo Bik van der Pol and the duo Kodwo Eshun and Anjalika Sagar. Interestingly enough both duo’s gave a presentation that in some way related to each other. Both were more or less about the question of ownership. When can we call something our own?

Bik van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik en Jos van der Pol) started their presentation with a talk about the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The museum is currently undergoing renovation and the entire building was stripped down and the entire collection stored at a secret location. They wanted to make a project about this but didn’t know where to start. So they visited the secret location and walked around hoping to find something they could use for their project. In a drawer they saw a very small rock with a note with it. On that note it said that this stone came from the moon. It was a gift for ex-prime minister Willem Drees from astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins. They were on the Apollo 11 in 1969 and on a visit to the Netherlands they gave this present.

,,But it is really a rock from the moon?” the duo wondered. ,,Was it even allowed to own a piece of the moon? Technically the moon isn’t owned by anyone.” That didn’t stop the Lunar Embassy Computer Centre to open a Moonshop where you can actually buy a piece of the moon. The duo bought a piece only 35 dollars. They have a certificate to prove they are now the proud owners of a piece of the moon. ,,Who owns the moon? Can we own the moon? This question raised more questions, do we own anything that is displayed in the Rijksmuseum?”

Kodwo Eshun and Anjalika Sagar from the Otolith Group presented two films. ,,We attempt to re-look at the archive. We’re very interested in the absence of certain things in the archives. It’s interesting to see what a museum keeps and displays and what not.” The film of Otolith tells the story of Dr. Usha Adebaran Sagar, a women in the future who looks back on history with a different perspective. In the future, the human race is no longer able to live on earth and has to live in zero-gravity space stations. Dr. Sagar is a paleo-anthrapologist who researches live on earth only through media archives. She narrates over the film while we see images of our world today. ,,With this film we attempt to formulate the archives in a post-potential future. What we keep now is important for the future. This allowed us to ask ourselves questions about the public and private archive. We ask questions about the future and how we can try to imagine it.”

For more information on the Otolith Group please visit here

For more information on Bik van der Pol please visit here

Do you want to own a piece of the moon? Go to the Moonshop