The Art Newspaper published a puzzling story about the theft of a large and heavy banner in Rotterdam that was part of an art piece by AES+F, the Russian art collective:

“We took the banner down and only left it on the street for five minutes. It weighs over 100 kilograms which leads us to believe that this is an organised heist, possibly even some kind of artist performance.” The main front section of the mammoth piece, which measures 30 metres by 11 metres, was stolen while the side part (11 metres by 8 metres) is now in storage.

Schmitz added that the installation was uninsured because even though “AES+F’s intervention is a work of art, the banner itself has no value on the art market; it was indeed supposed to be destroyed after taking it down.” She also denied claims in the local press that the theft was a publicity stunt.

Installation by Russian collective AES+F stolen from gallery (The Art Newspaper)