Cornelia Parker, Exhaled Cocaine, 1996. Image courtesy the artist and Frith Street Gallery, LondonIncinerated cocaineA thorny run-in with US Customs officialsgave me a perverse desire to work withCustoms and Excise in the UK. I gotto know the team at their Cardiffheadquarters over a period of severalmonths. They agreed to give me someconfiscated cocaine. They gave me abig black bin-liner full, a million pounds’worth burnt to a cinder. I love thetheatrical way they destroy illicitlysmuggled contraband, steamrolleringfake Rolex watches or alcohol. Like me,they are often symbolically killingthings off.
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