An artist who smuggled one of her own paintings into a museum exhibition where it hung on the wall for weeks before the switch was noticed has auctioned the work for EUR 2,800.
The student painter hid the portrait up her oversized hoodie and quietly hung it in a spare space while stewards weren’t looking.
It wasn’t until baffled exhibition curators noticed it was not in the catalogue that they rumbled the prank.
Delighted Danai Emmanouilidis finally sold her work, showing a woman on a green background, at the Van Ham auction house in the city of Cologne, Germany, on Thursday, 30th November.
She told German newspaper Bild: “I was incredibly excited and am now really positively surprised that the painting sold for so much money.”
Danai told how she had decided to prank the ‘Who We Are’ show at the Bundeskunsthalle museum, in Bonn, as a protest against discrimination.
She said: “I painted the picture around three years ago.
“I wanted to use this campaign to set an example against discrimination in our society and that’s why I specifically chose the ‘Who We Are’ exhibition because it deals with the topic of migration.
“This theme plays a big role in my art. I smuggled it in with a huge hoodie over my leggings.”
When curators discovered the rogue exhibit they tried to reach the artist on social media.
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They said: “We think this is funny and would like to get to know the artist. So get in touch! There is no trouble. Word of honour.”
Soon after, Danai messaged them on Instagram.
Exhibition curator Johanna Adam said: “When we discovered the picture, I wasn’t annoyed, I wanted to know what was behind this action.
“That’s why I was happy that the artist got in touch with us.”
She told Danai: “One more picture in the exhibition is of course better than one less picture.
“Maybe we could auction the picture for a good cause.”
Now Danai has shown that her art really is in the right place by giving the auction cash to a Cologne art charity.
She said: “The sum will now be donated to the ArtAsyl e.V.”
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Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Newsflash
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