In our own lifetimes, most of us have become a cow at one point or another.
The seemingly simple act of consuming, which all living beings do in order to sustain life, is a form of becoming.
I have become Shyanne.
In a sense, I have become the entire world she occupied.
The grass in the pasture, the well water coming from a hose, the grains and molasses that made up her portions of sweet feed.
By ingesting her, I “become” the world that she inhabited.
How are we to come to terms with this?
Her owners were gracious enough to invite me to flesh and tan her hide-a process that is long, tedious and ongoing. I have spent hours caring for what remains of her body, of her. My experiences with Shy-Anne have been incredibly unique. Though she was not my pet, I have known her in a variety of ways and circumstances that no other human has. My relationship with her transcends death and becomes ritualistic. After her death, caring for her body in this a particular way negates my unease about consuming her flesh.
It brings the Trough performance full-circle.
The seemingly simple act of consuming, which all living beings do in order to sustain life, is a form of becoming.
I have become Shyanne.
In a sense, I have become the entire world she occupied.
The grass in the pasture, the well water coming from a hose, the grains and molasses that made up her portions of sweet feed.
By ingesting her, I “become” the world that she inhabited.
How are we to come to terms with this?
Her owners were gracious enough to invite me to flesh and tan her hide-a process that is long, tedious and ongoing. I have spent hours caring for what remains of her body, of her. My experiences with Shy-Anne have been incredibly unique. Though she was not my pet, I have known her in a variety of ways and circumstances that no other human has. My relationship with her transcends death and becomes ritualistic. After her death, caring for her body in this a particular way negates my unease about consuming her flesh.
It brings the Trough performance full-circle.
Acknowledging that I am in a position of power in this particular relationship, the previous work, Trough, sought to reverse this traditional power structure between human and animal. I placed my body in a submissive position. A sculpture, which acts as an extension of my body, allowed the cows to eat from me. Would her tragic and unexpected death have been in vain if the humans around her had simply buried all 1,200 lbs of her? She was a much-loved pet, the more fiesty of the two cows the Guerra family keeps.
