ANNABEL ELGAR

Cheating The Moon

Nominated for the Prix Elysée 2014

One of the myths surrounding the Apollo Moon Landings is their supposed construction. That the giant leap for mankind was a well-polished hoax on the back of NASA and other organisations is a familiar line: one that permeates conspiracy theories across the planet.

So perhaps it is not so strange that within any context of 'authentic' evidence, there is a stand-off with a counter-narrative of a spurious nature. Acknowledging this, project, Cheating the Moon, takes the stolen and missing Goodwill Moon Rocks of the Apollo 11 and 17 missions as its point of departure. Of the 270 moon rocks that were given to the nations of the world by the Nixon administration shortly after the expeditions, approximately 180 are currently unaccounted for. Within those that remain at large, beyond the researchers and hobbyists that have tracked down some of the specimens, a culture of emergent forgery and theft has high-jacked proceedings. In 1998 an undercover federal law enforcement operation, code named Operation Lunar Eclipse, was created to identify and arrest individuals selling bogus moon rocks and dust.

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Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Moon Dust Stockpile

Moon dust stockpile, New Forest, England, 2014, 76 x 101cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Astronauts

Astronauts from the Apollo 11 and 17 Missions, School Research Project, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 2014, 76 x 101cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, A Moonrock Stolen

A moonrock, stolen from an educational vehicle in 2007, was discovered several months later in the home of convicted smuggler, Joseph Rileigh, in Pantego, Texas, sewn into the jacket lining of a George Bush doll. (From the Stratton Lunar Archives), 2016, 40 x 50cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Napa County

Napa County, California, USA (petrified wood).A moon rock gifted to the Rijksmuseum, Netherlands, transpired to be a piece of petrified wood, 2014, 40 x 50cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Birds of Canada

Birds of Canada - book presented to Jaymie Matthews by the Canadian government in exchange for a moon rock in his possession, 2014, 40 x 50cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, US Postal Service

Moon rocks lost in the US postal service, 2004 (investigation ongoing), 2014, 40 x 50cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Federal Law Enforcement Storage Unit

Federal Law Enforcement Storage Unit, Portland, USA, 2014, 76 x 101cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Evidence

Evidence - article 5, ransom note and typewriter recovered from a furniture warehouse basement, Texas, USA, 2014, 40 x 50cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Office Drawer

Office drawer, West Virginia. A moon rock was discovered in the home of retired dentist, Robert Conner, 2014, 40 x 50cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Cell 17

Cell 17, McNeil Island Corrections Center, McNeil Island, Washington State, USA. In 2003 Brandon McGeary spent 211 days awaiting trial for smuggling a stolen moon rock, 2015, 76 x 101cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Specimen Found

Specimen found in the trophy cupboard of Fristad fly fishing club, Sweden, 2014, 76 x 101cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Moon rock Kirigami Workshop

Moon rock kirigami workshop, Nayoro Kindergarten, Nayoro, Japan, 2014, 76 x 101cm C-type photographic print.

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Copy of Ransom Note

Copy of the ransom note left at the home of Wendy Mason of Newburgh Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, on 15th March 1987. Mason was employed as a clerk at a bank vault in the city of Cleveland. Several former employees, who were said to be aware that a moon rock was stored at the vault, were questioned on suspicion of extortion and dognapping. (Courtesy of the Paterson Archives).

Annabel Elgar, Cheating the Moon, Bob Massey

8th grade school year book photograph of Bob Massey of Wichita, 1961. Massey was imprisoned for twelve months in 1996 for the attempted robbery of a moon rock from a touring educational exhibition.