Restitution: Museums and Colonial Legacies
Following the screening of Elephants & Squirrels, this roundtable builds on the questions raised by the film, focusing on the presence of Sri Lankan artefacts and human remains in Swiss museums. Drawing on the investigation led by artist Deneth Piumakshi Veda Arachchige and her campaign for restitution, the discussion will examine how these collections were formed, the conditions of their acquisition, and the political, ethical and institutional challenges involved in their return. Bringing together the artist, the film’s director and the curator of the Asia Department at the Musée d’ethnographie de Genève, the event opens a dialogue between filmmaking and contemporary museum practice, while engaging with current restitution debates in both Asia and Europe.
Gregor Brändli
Director of Elephants & Squirrels
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Deneth Piumakshi Veda Arachchige
Multidisciplinary artist and protagonist of Elephants & Squirrels
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Damien Kunik
Historian, anthropologist, curator, Asia Department, MEG
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The discussion is interpreted in English and French
Elephants & Squirrels
In museums in Switzerland, Sri Lankan artist Deneth Piumakshi Veda Arachchige uncovers human remains and artefacts originating from the Indigenous Wanniyala-Aetto community. Marked by colonial violence, these objects were stolen in the early twentieth century by Swiss naturalists. The film interrogates the origins of museum collections, the legitimacy of their continued preservation, the transmission of cultural heritage, and the possibilities for reparation.
Theatrical release 23.09.26
SFR
Kathleen Moser
Wendelin Schmidt-Ott
Silvio Anania
Victor Moser
