Museum of Stolen Souls

No artefact found in the anthropology section of a museum was ever created to lie locked in a glass case, gazed on by people lacking any cultural connection with it. Using 2-D, model and photo animation, Chris Elliott questions what the display of such artefacts, far from their home and context (in this case the rainforest), is all about and suggests that we are wilfully blind to the kind of cultural and religious violence that is at the root of such misappropriation.

Chris was a member of the animation group ‘Cinetig’, established in Cardiff in 1998. For over a decade, the animators worked collaboratively, creating award-winning films exploring history, culture and identity with numbers of young people. Having had a lifelong fascination with woodlands and natural history which inspired his practice as an artist, Chris is now also a bushcraft and woodland skills instructor. He delivers courses in Pembrokeshire woodlands, offering people a deeper understanding and experience of native woodlands, enabling them to gain an insight into how their ancestors developed fascinating, creative skills to survive.