Chicken Man
Belgian Artist Seeks to Unlock Mysteries of Humanity Through Live Fowl

Since the launch of his “Cosmopolitan Chicken Project” in 2000, the artist has been crossbreeding chickens from different countries.

Koen Vanmechelen contemplates the chicken and the egg riddle.
Photo by Mitchell Zachs/MagicalPhotos.com.

From Koen Vanmechelen’s The Accident. Photo by Mitchell Zachs/MagicalPhotos.com.

By Omar Sommereyns

In the exhibition space for Koen Vanmechelen’s The Accident at the Palm Court building off Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, the general theme is clearly centered on a quite ubiquitous domestic fowl. There’s even a large wooden coop in the middle of the gallery where live chickens are breeding.

It may not be obvious at first, but this Belgian artist is interested in the grander scheme of things – the big questions, those perplexing dilemmas that constantly circle through our minds, yet never really lead to any reliable, concrete answers. We’re talking the Big Bang, creation, humanity and identity. So what does any of this have to do with chickens?

“I remember when I was about five, I already had an incubator and could watch the eggs hatch,” Vanmechelen says. “I was fascinated with nature.… You know, the chicken is more than only a chicken. And this show has nothing to do with a chicken on its own and everything to do with humanity itself.”

Chickens Are Metaphor for Human Existence, Says Artist

Vanmechelen speaks of the chicken as “metaphor for human existence” and the egg as “metaphor for the world and the laboratory of the future.” Since the launch of his “Cosmopolitan Chicken Project” in 2000, the artist has been crossbreeding chickens from different countries – he has currently achieved the eighth generation — to potentially return to the ancestral “Bankiva chicken” that had its origins in India thousands of years ago. He has eight breeding farms throughout the world, including in Belgium, Germany, Holland and Africa.

In one sense, Vanmechelen sees his work as an analogy for the unification of the human race.

“Humanity is divided like the chickens are — there are specific chickens linked to each country — and what I’m saying is that humans should be ready to crossbreed as well,” Vanmechelen explains. “Not only just [reproduction], but we need to share our thoughts, our ideas. Otherwise we just remain on the surface.”

As for whether or not he has encountered any barriers from animal rights activists, Vanmechelen says, “This is telling something about the respect for life. It isn’t evil or cruel. In Belgium we have a very strong animal rights group and they have given my project support.”

The Accident is Vanmechelen’s first big show in the United States and is presented by Venice’s Berengo Contemporary. It is an eye-opening exploration into the nature of life and its intricacies, combining sculpture, video, installation and painting to shed light on some of those weightier questions we can’t seem to let go of.

In a small room within the exhibition, a video projection displays the artist intently staring at the viewer, munching on the last bits of a chicken roast that lies before him. At the opening, an older lady and a friend walk into the room.

“Oh, he’s not going to spit it out, is he?” she asks her cohort, with a look of discomfit on her face.

“No, he wouldn’t do that,” the other replies.

And he doesn’t. Rather, the video plays backward and, gradually, the roast chicken is restored to its original state before the artist had consumed it.

“He’s putting it back together, like a sculpture,” the older lady says, now more appeased.

“Yes, it’s like magic,” adds her friend.

Then there’s a painting on one wall, an explosive, majestic amalgam of chicken feathers, and red, yellow and orange-brown hues of acrylics and Indian powder, the whole topped off with corn and eggs. On a table near this work, an egg sits on one end, while on the other stands a sculpture of a stuffed rooster with two heads furiously crowing at each other. The piece, as a whole, suggests that old question, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”

Vanmechelen’s work with glass is also very compelling. The title piece, “The Accident,” is a sculpture of a Mechelse Bresse chicken — one side consisting of a stuffed specimen, the other made of glass — looking up and screeching. Adriano Berengo, owner of Berengo Contemporary, points to another stately piece combining stuffed crossbred chickens spread like wings across a transparent glass figure. “Look at how dramatic this is,” Berengo says. Approaching this from a metaphorical perspective, one can see how the glass center represents an ideal — a liberated fusion of race.

Nearby, an installation titled “The Battle” features a collection of large glass eggs stacked throughout a corner of the space. Meanwhile, a small video projection shows a cockfight in slow motion. Interestingly, one animal is black and the other is, well, white. On another wall, the Born series portrays the outline of an egg in which there is a colorful medley of what may be a nucleus and membranes branching out. Placed horizontally upon the center of each piece is a blue neon light – the sign of life – quivering at different degrees.

Miami Beach Commissioner Simon Cruz (now a candidate for mayor) attended the opening on Tuesday and was particularly impressed. “I think it’s fascinating and extremely provocative to see how this guy makes this all into a metaphor for life – from the mere perfect shape of an egg to the diversity one can create with crossbreeding.”

Vanmechelen is inspired by a number of ethical issues and he examines them all through this chicken metaphor, hoping to ultimately reach and help others find a better understanding of life and one another.

“If you really look into what I’m doing here and think about what crossbreeding can mean, then you’ll see that a lot of questions about humanity arise – globalization, racism, cloning and genetic manipulation. I’m curious about all these kinds of subjects.”

The Accident is on view at the Palm Court, 309 23rd St., Miami Beach, through Feb. 28. Free. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Sunday. Hours are from noon to 6 p.m. after Dec. 10. An opening party for The Accident takes place at 6 p.m. this Friday at the South Beach Hotel, 236 21st St., Miami Beach.

Comments? E-mail omar@miamisunpost.com.