Banned from the Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, these pigs are the work of Belgian artist Wim Delvoye. His interest in tattoo based conceptual art also extends to selling the full back piece of a Swiss man (post death, of course) for a rather healthy sum.
Might weigh in that the LV pig is quite the conversation starter. Given the ability of the brand to entice regardless of cultural background and regional taste and market "IT" objects around the world, the "work" is an intriguing comment on the growing Chinese luxury market. Guess the Fair thought otherwise. (via Shanghalist).
And, if the idea of tattooing animals seems new, you may want to look into Milt Zeis. During the 1950s, Zeis sold tattoo "how-to" kits. Beyond the normal range of the trade, he also suggested students could make a living tattooing animals… mostly to insure their owners didn’t lose them. Just a quick lesson there.
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The ban shows sound ethical judgement by Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair. This is animal abuse in the name of art. I can understand why he liked the pigs’ big hairless backs as a medium for tattoo art, but he seems to have forgotten that it is live animals that have rights and can feel pain.
It is also very un-European. Are you sure the guy is Belgian? I would have thought he would have been jailed for animal cruelty, and he would certainly be culturally condemned if people saw this.