ReCollection

“I recollect drawing athletes I admired, sunsets during holidays or copying paintings like Rembrandt's Nightwatch. Since my early childhood this has been my way of processing moments of connection, finding out what it was that made these impressions valuable to me.

Expressing myself mostly through photography, I feel more than ever that I’m stopping time; boxing these objects that are, or were once owned by museums, stolen by colonizers or painted by artists. The final layer of craquelé symbolizes time leaving its traces.

More recently the focus is on dispersed cultural heritage.”

Art Rotterdam/UNESEEN 2026

Art Rotterdam/UNESEEN 2026

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For the 2026 UNSEEN photo fair at Art Rotterdam, in partnership with Bildhalle Gallery. Casper brought a solo presentation of his ongoing ReCollection project.

Through a process he refers to as “ReCollecting”, Faassen traces dispersed cultural belongings and reworks them in his signaturelanguage. The new sculptures are presented as memories in transit and placed in groups with similar disputed backgrounds.The ongoing questions of ownership and restitution can be seen as symbols for broader societal inequalities, reminding viewersthat the conversations and the accountability of action do not end simply with the returning of an object. Restitution or the debatesurrounding it, can be used as a starting point for understanding the complexity of our present day relationships.The ReCollected cultural belongings in this presentation all stand in their own corner of the conversation.For Faassen it is also a personal project. Although aware of his position and active in the discourse, his ideologies were not al-ways visible in his work.Thanks to Gert Oostindie, Jos van Beurden and Menucha Latumaerissa of the Budaya Kita foundation (which we partly supportwith the project) for their expertise and help. For in depth learning on the subject, the books Rekenschap by Gert Oostindie,“Ongemakkelijk Erfgoed” and “Het lege-vitrinesyndroom” van Jos van Beurden are recommended.

Recollection Tanimbar Skulls

Recollection Tanimbar Skulls

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Recollection Tanimbar Skulls

Fifteen ancestral skulls that were taken in 1912 from the villageof Amtoefoe, now called Lorulun, on Yamdena Island in the Ta-nimbar Archipelago, Maluku, Indonesia. Previously held in thecollection of Museum Vrolik, they were returned to Indonesia in2024 with the assistance of the Budaya Kita Foundation. Theseskulls were taken without consent and used for racial or scientif-ic studies rooted in colonial ideologies.The restitution illustrates a growing recognition that humanremains are not mere artifacts, but deeply meaningful culturaland spiritual items. By returning the skulls to their communi-ties, both the museum and the foundation acknowledged pastinjustices and supported the restoration of dignity and ancestralconnections. The case exemplifies how museums can play a rolein reconciling historical wrongs while fostering dialogue withsource communities.

ReCollection Genesha

ReCollection Genesha

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ReCollection Genesha
A statue of the Hindu deity Ganesha from the collection of theWereldmuseum Leiden was restituted to Indonesia after researchshowed it had likely been removed during the colonial period un-der questionable circumstances. The decision followed increasingrecognition in the Netherlands that objects acquired in colonialcontexts may not have been obtained ethically, even if technicallylegal at the time. The restitution reflects a broader institutionalshift toward addressing historical injustices and engaging in dia-logue with countries of origin.

ReCollection, Casper Faassen, atelier, artist studio, sculpture, photographic sculpture, parthenon marble, british museum

ReCollection Casper Faassen

Short film in which Casper Faassen talks about his ReCollection series.

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ReCollection Wall

ReCollection Wall

35x25cm each ed5

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ReCollection Hirado XXV

ReCollection Hirado XXV

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ReCollection Satsuma III

ReCollection Satsuma III

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Recollected Marbles

Recollected Marbles

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Recollection Amor

Recollection Amor

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ReCollection Herode Atticus

ReCollection Herode Atticus

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ReCollection Venus Head

ReCollection Venus Head

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ReCollection Rodin

ReCollection Rodin

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Temple Guardians

Temple Guardians

ReCollected Temple Guardians 270x180x100cm

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Pieta

Pieta

250x180x100cm Edition of 3

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