Canan Tolon says the works were part of a three-piece installation being transported to London.
A shipment of sculptures by Turkish artist Canan Tolon intended for a London exhibition lies in ruins after being deemed suspicious and smashed with sledgehammers during a customs inspection.
In an Instagram post, the Vehbi Koç Award-winning artist details the shock of learning her work was destroyed at the border.
“As they were considered suspicious, they smashed my sculptures that were on their way to my exhibition in London with sledgehammers. The metal frames were also seized as part of the procedure,” she wrote.
Tolon said the works were part of a three-piece installation being transported to Dirimart’s London gallery for an exhibition scheduled to open on Nov. 17.
The artist stated that inspectors deemed the sculptures suspicious when X-ray scans failed to reveal their contents. While all three pieces were forcibly broken open, the canvases belonging to the installation remained unharmed.
Tolon explains that the sculptures consist partly of found objects she collected over several years. Recreating the pieces is impossible, she notes, as replacing the original materials with new items would fundamentally alter the nature of the work.
Tolon adds that despite requesting the preservation of the metal frames, a critical element of the installation, authorities seized them regardless.
Tolon said she did not yet know exactly where the incident took place or which authorities were responsible. Based on photographs sent to her, she believed it might have happened at a customs checkpoint along the Türkiye-Bulgaria route. However, she said she lacked sufficient information about the transportation company, the route taken and the insurance arrangements to make a definitive assessment.
Describing the incident as unprecedented in her career, Tolon said it had raised questions about the security of transporting artworks internationally. She urged artists and galleries to pay closer attention to transportation companies, shipping routes and insurance conditions when sending works abroad.
Despite the loss, Tolon emphasizes that the incident will not stop the London exhibition from proceeding, expressing hope that alternative arrangements can be made.
