This art is full of shit

Wim Delvoye's contraption mimics human waste

MONTREAL (CUP) — Cloaca No.5, the latest offspring of Belgian artist Wim Delvoye, is a machine that mimics the functions of the human digestive system and creates — well, a load of crap.

Cloaca, also known as a “machine à caca,” has been hosted at the Université du Québec à Montréal's art gallery for the past few weeks.

The machine, fed copious amounts of food daily, has its internal temperature monitored by other machines to mimic the normal body temperature of humans.

The various body parts of the machine — mouth, stomach, pancreas, intestine and, anus — engage in the digestion process separately whereby a unique chemical composition of enzymes is released, which creates the ideal climate to harvest bacteria.

Delvoye has made himself internationally known by tattooing living pigs and creating the first Cloaca machine in 2000. He has since created eight versions of Cloaca, each of which he has left for public scrutiny around the world.

“It is a good effort at attempting to recreate the human body,” said gastroenterologist Érik Deslandres. “But it leaves me in awe as to the incapacity we have to duplicate what the body does when we digest.”

But there may be more to Cloaca than just feces.

For some, Cloaca No. 5 — named after the famous Chanel perfume — is the symbol of mass consumption and capitalism.

“Is today's over-consuming society here to produce shit only?” asked Patrick Beaudoin, a creative officer for Cossette Communications.

For others, Cloaca is like a child.

“You have to take care of her,” said Orélie Brulet, who has babysat the piece since the beginning of the exhibition. “Feed her, change her, and take care of her when she gets sick.”

And what about the smell?

“Once you get in, there's a very unpleasant 10 minutes,” Brulet said. “And then your nose just gets used to it.”