Fossil Free Culture NL Dutch Artist Collective, est. 2017
Drop the Shell, from Prestige to Disgrace, 2017
On May 12th, 2017, seven women from the Dutch artist collective Fossil Free Culture performed Drop the Shell for unwitting visitors in the entrance hall of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The museum’s sponsorship by Royal Dutch Shell, the multinational oil company headquartered in the Netherlands, was the subject of their protest. The women each held a scallop shell filled with a thick black liquid resembling oil. While one woman recited an excerpt from one of Van Gogh’s letters, the others sipped the liquid from the shells, then allowed it to drip from their mouths and onto their white dresses and the floor. A spokesperson who informed museum security about the intention and non-violence of the performance was arrested alongside the seven performers. Amid public outcry the museum dropped its charges against the activists and they were later released. The Van Gogh Museum would drop Shell as a sponsor the following year. Label by Sarah Roberts