Elephants & Squirrels

While doing research in Swiss museums in 2019, Sri Lankan artist Deneth Piumakshi Veda Arachchige came across a collection of ancestral remains and cultural objects of the Wanniyala-Aetto, an indigenous Sri Lankan community. These had been brought to Basel at the beginning of the 20th century by Swiss explorers Paul and Fritz Sarasin.

Sri Lanka had already demanded the return of some of the objects as early as the 1970s, but Switzerland refused. Together with Uru Warige Wannila Aththo, the leader of the Wanniyala-Aetto community, Piumakshi Veda Arachchige is now trying to secure their return.

No one can tell her exactly how many stolen objects are in the collection. She starts a debate about art restitution, asking, “How do you decolonize a museum when you don’t even know what you have in your cabinets?” She embarks on a journey around Sri Lanka, following in the footsteps of the Sarasin brothers, and speaks with Swiss museum directors, curators, and researchers to explore multiple aspects of the debate.