Koen Vanmechelen
To understand Keon Vanmechelen's work well it is important to understand that it is highly hybrid. As hybrid as his main working tool which is the chicken. His work consists of drawings, photos, videos, glass works or illustrations in which almost always the chicken or its product, the egg, stands central.
In general the work of Koen Vanmechelen is organised along the eternal triangle Golem - Cosmopolitan Chicken Project - Medusa. Golem, the principle of the creating man, is the point of departure for the whole of his work and is still an important pillar. The Cosmopolitan Chicken Project (CCP) is the core in which Vanmechelen works around an extensive breeding programme with chicken breeds from all over the world. By doing so he asks attention for crossing borders in all means of the word and above all a mutual understanding. Medusa is the so called scientific part that used to be called The Walking Egg and can be seen as the think tank behind the CCP.
The triangle is also an image for Koen Vanmechelen's idea that art should be actual, individual and universal at the same time. Because nothing is eternal and everything changes constantly the triangle is never a static given and the three agents thus can change place and importance anytime.
Bronze Sculpture
Gallery
