Visitors to Zurich’s Design Museum can plunge into a medieval battle, step into the world of a spider, and even engage with an uncanny avatar that mirrors their own identity – all in an exhibition that foresees the digital future of museums. How can we still see museum objects if the originals are not available? Zurich’s Design Museum poses this question about the Benin Bronzes, which may soon be few and far between in European museum collections. Thousands of these sculptures were looted from Nigeria by British troops in 1897 and subsequently acquired by Western museums. Some institutions have begun returning them to their place of origin, in recognition of crimes committed more than a century ago. The Zurich Design Museum’s current exhibition Museum of the Future, showing until February 1, 2026, offers some alternatives to the real object. Photographs taken for the project Digital Benin, an online platform listing more than 5,000 objects from the former kingdom in 139 ...
