Artist Wears Costume Made of Raw Chicken Skin to Protest Against ‘Vanity-Driven Culture’

A couple of UK-based artists have created a bizarre body-hugging suit made entirely out of raw chicken skin. The disgusting outfit is apparently meant to make a statement against our vanity-driven culture. The two artists – Victor Ivanov and Lewis G – are now parading the completed suit called FLESH around the streets of London and at famous landmarks like the Trafalgar Square and Camden Lock.

Victor Ivanov is so disgusted with the current ‘selfie’ craze that he predicts the world might just end with ‘everyone standing on the ashes taking selfies’. In an interview with Art Map London, Victor explained that he originally developed an interest in flesh at university, as a way of working with biodegradable matter. “It’s a little crass because obviously it’s a very direct approach to interpreting our environment but nonetheless something that I want to experience first hand,” he admitted.

When they first decided to work with raw chicken skin, Victor and Lewis experimented with a much smaller project – they made a teddy bear. When that was a success, they decided to attempt something on a larger scale. So they created a costume big enough for Lewis to wear while roaming the streets of London.

Victor did admit that making the suit was not an easy task. “I envisaged using it like any other material but the reality is it doesn’t work quite in the same way because it’s flesh, you can’t help but respond emotionally yourself,” he said.

“When I first did it, it was really quite a horrible experience because just the feeling of piercing the flesh, you know it’s wrong and you imagine it being alive and you doing that.”

But they did manage to get around their queasiness and create a whole line of products involving chicken skin print –  flip flops, mugs, shower curtains, baby dummies, and iPhone covers. Those who’ve really taken a liking to the print can also go for bigger products like chicken skin wallpaper, duvet covers and cushions.

For those who really agree with the artists’ cause, there’s a download of the chicken skin print available on their website. Anyone can print it out, pose with it at a tourist location and try to make the picture go viral. Anyone interested?