AVL M80 Mortar, 1999

AVL M80 Mortar is a simplified design of an existing mortar, which can be built with widely available materials, like ready-made tubes and simple tools that can be found in any metal workshop. This piece was made in an edition of ten, but one no longer exists because it was confiscated and destroyed (the other remaining nine are safe abroad). After the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was murdered in 2002, the Rotterdam police began to confiscate artworks with a destructive potential. AVL M80 Mortar fit the criteria. Other AVL works that have been confiscated temporarily or permanently by state officials, both inside and beyond the borders of the Netherlands, include: Pistolet Poignée Americaine 1995; Survival Knife 1995; and Jewellery 1995.