For the last twenty years, BP has sponsored the British Museum.
This exhibition of objects sent from around the world explores and exposes BP's actions over the same period. Together, they ask: why does the British Museum continue to work with this corporate criminal?
Arpillera
This arpillera reflects the Zapatista struggle in Mexico as an icon of community-based resistance and struggle. It denounces the more than 150,000 deaths and more than 26,000 disappearances that have occurred in the country during the so-called “War on Drugs”, particularly remembering the 43 disappeared students of Ayotzinapa.
Confetti
This confetti is evidence that we, like Liberate Tate have shown, can successfully challenge BP’s sponsorship of the arts, and overturn the corporate takeover of culture.
Crude Oil
In 2010, BP was responsible for the biggest oil spill in US history. Over the course of three months, nearly 5 million barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico following an explosion on a rig.
Hard Hat
For decades, multinational construction firms compiled an illegal blacklist of trade unionists, journalists and campaigners. These workers suffered years of unemployment simply for trying to raise safety standards in an industry with one of the highest fatality rates in the UK.
Lamassu Charm
The Lamassu was adopted as an emblem by the British Army in Iraq in the 1940s, and by American military forces following the invasion of 2003. Months ahead of this invasion, BP were in talks with the UK government about accessing the country’s oil reserves.
Morning Star Flag
West Papua has been under illegal Indonesian occupation since 1969. West Papuans are jailed for 15 years just for raising this flag. BP is operating right in the middle of this secret genocide, making millions of dollars for the Indonesian government while West Papuans are evicted from their ancestral homeland.
Oil Lamp
This lamp was rescued from landfill in Calder Valley during the extensive flooding of Boxing Day 2015. Local residents worked through electricity blackouts to load the ruined debris of their homes and businesses into a truck, fearful that further flooding could wash it all downstream.
Photograph of Gilberto Torres
Gilberto Torres was kidnapped after staging a protest in response to the disappearance of Aury Sará Marrugo. “In the year 2002 I was kidnapped and held for 42 days by paramilitary groups, backed by the Colombian state and by multinational oil companies, including, among others, BP.”
Photographs of Refinery
Petcoke is a fuel used in manufacturing and burns much dirtier than coal, producing 10% more carbon dioxide. These pictures speak of disrespect and disregard for the local community which has borne the petcoke piles, with its dust blown into their homes, yards, and lungs - and also of BP's intention to demolish Marktown.
Sunflower
In May 2015, the PCS Union Culture Sector passed a motion officially condemning oil company sponsorship of cultural institutions. The motion was proposed by staff from National Museums Liverpool and passed overwhelmingly. This sunflower was used in the 2014-15 anti-privatisation campaign by workers at the National Gallery, which included 111 days of strike action.
Tear Gas Cartridge
BP is currently the largest foreign investor in Egypt, extracting oil and gas from beneath the Red Sea, Mediterranean and Nile Delta. This tear gas cartridge was retrieved when police fired it at protests in Cairo in 2011. Tear gas was one of many weapons used to control, contain and repress the protesters, causing severe eye and respiratory injuries. Over 40 Egyptians were killed due to tear gas inhalation during the uprisings.
Terms of Reference
BP plans to drill four new ultra-deepwater wells in an area off the south coast of Australia known as the Great Australian Bight. This inquiry comes after the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority rejected BP's plans to drill four exploratory wells last year. BP has vowed to reapply.
Waira
BP sold their Colombian operations to Ecopetrol, the company exploiting the land in the area of the Amazon where the Cofan people live. The Waira is the tool of the shaman to heal and to make music. The Cofan people are just one of countless Indigenous communities around the world threatened by multinational corporations like BP. They are on the frontlines of global resistance.