Friday 12 September 2008

Wim Delvoye is banned from exhibiting tattooed pigs in China

Eight tattooed pigs by Wim Delvoye have been pulled before the opening of SHContemporary in Shanghai, China. The pigs were tattooed with Walt Disney characters and other symbols. There has been no official comment about the ban from the art fair organizers, but Delvoye has made his frustration known, stating, “We have collectors who've traveled to China all the way from Europe to see the pigs. They're very disappointed.''. If they had been purchased by collectors the pigs would have been slaughtered and their preserved skins sold for over $10,000 each. Delvoye went on to say that he does not understand why the ban was so “aggressive“.

Delvoye has been tattooing pigs since the 1990s. In recent years it seems that more artists are killing animals in the name of what they call art. Is it art? What are your thoughts on this? Should a line be drawn between branding animals for slaughter and consumption and tattooing and slaughtering animals in the name of art? What do you think?

2 comments:

James said...

If was a pig and had the choice to either be slaughter and made into Tesco value sausages or works of art worth over $10,000 I know what I'd prefer.

Samuel Newman said...

I disagree I'm afraid. I think there is a line that should be drawn when it comes to animal slaughter. We as humans require food to survive. Art is not an essential part of survival. Contentious issue.