Alexei Kuzmich has staged himself in a video published on social networks in which he digs with a shovel around the grave of the famous Dutch painter, buried in a cemetery in Val-d’Oise.
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Alexei Kuzmich was arrested on July 29 for digging around the grave of Vincent Van Gogh, buried in the Auvers-sur-Oise cemetery, as part of an artistic performance. The Belarusian artist is now the subject of expulsion proceedings from French territory, the Val-d’Oise prefecture told AFP on Thursday, August 8.
In a video posted on social media, the 36-year-old, his face and hair covered in flour and dressed all in white, appears digging with a shovel around the grave of the Dutch post-impressionist artist. The latter lived for a few weeks in Auvers-sur-Oise, in the north of Paris, before killing himself there in 1890 and being buried there.
Brought before the Pontoise court two days later, the performer was sentenced to a one-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 3,000 euros. “He was in an irregular situation in France, quite clearly. An obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) was issued and he was placed in detention.” with a view to his expulsion, the prefecture told AFP, specifying that the Belarusian national had not filed an asylum application in France.
Alexei Kuzmich had already made headlines in France in 2021. He appeared in front of the Elysée Palace holding a fake Molotov cocktail in his hand, which earned him a warning.
