My original piece is a drawing of a cute pig that was done in marker pen that actually has 2 meanings. The first is of a happy go lucky pig living in the countryside without a care in the world. The second interpretation of the image is that this pig has actually been slaughtered and cut into many different pieces and slices for eating. The biggest problem I have with this image though is that the second interpretation is perhaps too subtle and is not noticeable enough. I therefore have created a much more obvious and visceral image. I still wanted to combine the cute with the horrible. To do this I used the everyday icons of pig, namely a child’s soft toy and a plastic money box, which I then proceeded to cut up and hack about, just like someone would with a real pig.

The next stage of the process was to fill the pig’s body with meat and green powder signifying the contamination from growth hormones and medicines intended to both keep the pig in “tip-top” condition and to ensure a good price. To highlight the use of artificial additives the pig is pierced in many places by five syringes, each of which is filled with more green “nutrients” to encourage even faster growth, greater resistance to nature, and even more profit. In  addition although the pig has been cut up it and is wearing a blindfold as it continues to eat meat from another pig in a cannibalistic fashion.

The included knife, fork and blindfold symbolise our voracious consumption of this animal without thought or concern of where it has come from and what processes have taken place before it is served to us.

I also modified a smaller money box to show the pig’s offspring watching in horror as it’s mother eats contaminated material while it’s own insides are open to the world. The piglet is crying and on its back is a label saying “Ready in July 2018”, which is the date when the piglet is due to be slaughtered.