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Artist secretly hangs AI-generated print in Cardiff museum before removal
A Welsh artist covertly placed an AI-generated artwork in National Museum Cardiff, where it remained on display for hours before staff removed it following visitor inquiries, museum officials confirmed Tuesday.
The stunt
Elias Marrow, a Cardiff-based artist, hung his print titled Empty Plate-depicting a schoolboy holding an empty plate-in the museum's contemporary section on October 29. The piece, created using AI tools after an initial sketch by Marrow, was viewed by "a few hundred people" before its removal, he told local media.
One visitor, who asked not to be named, said they questioned a staff member about the unfamiliar work. "They admitted they had no idea about the piece or when it arrived," the visitor recalled, adding they initially assumed it might be "performance art" before realizing it was an unauthorized installation.
Museum response
An Amgueddfa Cymru spokesperson acknowledged the incident in a statement: "An item was placed without permission on a gallery wall in National Museum Cardiff. We were alerted to this and have removed the item in question."
Artist's intent
Marrow described the act as an exploration of institutional curation. "I'm interested in how public institutions decide what's worth showing, and what happens when something outside that system appears within it," he said. He rejected claims of vandalism, framing the work as "participation without permission" rather than disruption.
The artist, who has staged similar unsanctioned displays at Bristol Museum and Tate Modern, emphasized the role of AI in his process. "AI is here to stay; to gatekeep its capability would be against the beliefs I hold dear about art," he stated, calling it a "natural evolution of artistic tools."
"The work isn't about disruption. It's about participation without permission. I'm not asking permission, but I'm not causing harm either."
Elias Marrow
Visitor reactions
A visitor from Ireland who saw the piece questioned its presence in the gallery. "I wondered why such a poor-quality AI piece was hanging there without being labeled as AI," they said. Others reportedly took photos of the work, which Marrow's website describes as representing "Wales in 2025."
Broader context
The incident adds to ongoing debates about AI's role in art and the boundaries of institutional spaces. Marrow's previous interventions, though unacknowledged by museums, reflect a growing trend of artists testing the limits of curated environments.
