_____________
Michaël Borremans Fires from the Sun (2017)
Oil on panel
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Enrique Chagoya Cannibull’s Soup (2003)
screenprint on paper on aluminum cans
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Salvador Dali The nostalgia of the cannibal (1932)
Oil on canvas
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FASTWÜRMS Cannibal Nympho Witch (2012)
‘Cannibal Nympho Witch is about a society of transgenetic Witches living in a ‘tranny’ future world they have created after the ecological destruction and total economic collapse of the 21st century.’
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Jérôme Zonder Jeu-denfants n°1 (2010)
lead on paper
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Anna Perach Holes (2024)
mixed media
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Éder Oliveira Five Young Men Who Were Eaten by Cannibals (2017)
Paint and pencil on canvas
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Jonathan David Lange Cannibals Eat Public Speaker (2019)
Painting, marker on Paper
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Emily Anderson Cannibals: Myth & Reality (2018)
installation
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Odd Nerdrum Cannibals (2018)
Oil on canvas
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Clemens von Wedemeyer The Fourth Wall (2008-2010)
‘The film-based installation “The Fourth Wall”, by celebrated German artist Clemens von Wedemeyer, explores the relationship between fact and fiction in documentary-making. It focuses on the controversial 1971 “discovery” of the Tasaday people in the Philippines, who were purportedly still living primitively and untouched by civilisation. There is a fleeting moment of a simulation of cannibalism from a film clip. It’s a sensational representation, but it’s quite clearly not a real moment.’
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Shelton Walsmith Hansel + Gretel (2022)
Oil on Canvas
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Bob van der Wal Belief System Of A Cannibal Soul 2 (2020)
‘A hyper real foot with numbered toe nails modelling a crushed glass bong.’
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Zhu Yu Dinner – Eating People (2004)
‘In his performance art piece Eating People, Zhu photographs himself cooking and eating a human fetus that he divided into five parts. Zhu says that “I herewith announce my intention and my aim to eat people as a protest against mankind’s moral idea that he/she cannot eat people.” In further response to Zhu’s performance, The Ministry of Culture cited a menace to social order and the spiritual health of the Chinese people, and banned exhibitions involving culture, animal abuse, corpses, and overt violence and sexuality. However, this piece did not even appear at the exhibit; the night before the exhibition, Ai Weiwei collaborated with Zhu and the photographs were removed from the gallery. This piece was thought particularly controversial, and organizers did not want to risk government censorship for the rest of the exhibit. The response to this work stemmed from its appearance on the internet shortly after. This later generated the question of whether eating babies was accepted in Asia on various myth-debunking websites.”‘
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Lisa Ng Cannibal Nachos (2011)
Acrylic on Canvas
_____________
Adriana Varejao For a cannibal rhetoric (1996)
oil on canvas with epoxy paste
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‘Selvik Wenshoel, a young man from Norway recently garnished and ate his own hipbone, which he served with potato gratin. Grotesque to us, but to Wenshoel it was a natural process, which he documented via film. A lifetime of physical pain caused by a deformed hip ritually ended with a moment of emotional pain. Ultimately, his aim was to provoke “My goal is to get the audience reflecting. Life is short and people have the habit of running away from pain… Pain is not physical—it’s an idea”.’
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Zhang Huan Foam (1) (1998)
‘In this artwork, artist Zhang Huan, face covered in foaming bubbles, opens his mouth to reveal a black-and-white photograph of a baby lying on its back and playfully grabbing its feet. Zhang writes, “Life is like a dream. It is transient. Just like foam, it sparkles out and dies in less than a second. I love this baby and I hate this baby. I wanted to eat it. I wanted to eat myself.”’
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Mark Adams Cook’s Sites: View into Cannibal Cove from Motuara Island (2007)
Gold toned silver bromide fibre-based prints
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Allan Graves from Monsterama Issue #4 (2022)
Zine-inspired art catalog
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Nicola Samorì Cannibal Trail (2014-2017)
Oil on canvas
_____________
Matt MacFarland Frankfurter (2012)
‘Why is there a self-cannibalizing hot dog statue perched on a building off Alhambra.’
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Christopher Reynolds The Pleasures of the Table, 2012
Maple butcher block, mixing bowl, metal, 8 chef’s knives, magnetic knife rack, 8 aprons, metal hooks
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Gunawan Rb George Fisher Cannibal Corpse Spirit (2021)
drawing and Photoshop
_____________
Minerva Cuevas Feast and Famine (2022)
‘Cannibalism is the only thing that unites us. Socially. Economically. Philosophically. And Chocolate.’
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Kacper Piskorowski Cannibals (2007)
Acrylic on canvas
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Granger Victims Of Alfred Packer (2012)
drawing
______________
‘Canadian artist Victoria Van Dyke, a self-proclaimed cannibal, shocked the world on March 7th when she showed up at an art gallery at 401 Richmond in Toronto with her chopped off little piggy in a jar and asked to show it in the gallery. The gallery (which prefers not to be mentioned) refused to show the “sculpture” and immediately contacted 911 concerned they might have a lunatic on their hands.
‘Police arrived on the scene shortly after and after discussing the matter with the artist later told the gallery “Sorry, there’s nothing we can do. She seems stable and she’s done nothing illegal.”
‘Victoria Van Dyke spent two years in a mental asylum (she willingly placed herself there) where she received psychiatric treatment for cannibalism. The artist admits a strong thirst to eat the flesh of humans, but objects to the immorality of killing. According to the psychiatric review board that reviews Van Dyke’s case she is safe to live in society and people should not fear having the self-confessed cannibal living in their neighbourhood. Still local residents do grow concerned when told they have a cannibal living in Toronto.
‘UPDATE: In 2009 Ms Van Dyke received a request from an American man looking to buy the toe (so he could eat it), but she refused to sell it to him. Ms Van Dyke now describes herself as an “ex-cannibal” and admits her mood swings years ago were pretty wacky due to all the medications she was on.’
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p.s. RIP Bob Newhart. I think I’m feeling a bit better today. ** _Black_Acrylic, ‘Fallen Leaves’ is really good, as I think I already said. I miss my CD player. At the same time, the idea of buying a new one seems weird. In any case I’ll try to find an immaterial version of the Shackleton. ** Deisel Clementine, Productive morning, good. ‘Ooze a bit more’: now that’s an interesting editorial suggestion. I’m guessing you know how to make wordage ooze when called upon? What did your unofficial editor decree? I seem to be upswinging health-wise this AM, thank you. ** Dominik, Hi!!! I feel a little better. Just in time for the arrival of a little heatwave, so all bets are off. Since that silver thing is resting close to the Seine where the big opening Olympics ceremony water parade is supposedly happening, I assume it’s a flying prop under which some famous person will be spotlit riding on an airborne platform doing some sort of Santa Claus-like number? I need love’s skill of yesterday very much, as I’m guessing do you. I’m spending part of every day walking around in my bedroom with a portable vacuum cleaner inhaling them off the walls. Love unclogging my right ear, G. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi. Oh, I always find it refreshing when filmmakers don’t like Scorcese. Well, ‘knowing’ Barthelme would be pushing it, but I went to a number of literary parties where he was there, and we had some very charming conversations. I don’t know what a Vodka Gibson is, but I will find out. I’m assuming not Gibson as in Mel. ** Lucas, Hi! Oh, ‘Gang of Four’ is great, yeah. It’s so exciting to find a filmmaker who really, really works for you in a full way like Bresson does for me. That’s awesome! I’m bettering, I think, I hope, and I hope to be in a proper state to devour your zine by tomorrow, or that’s the plan. ** Joseph, Hi. ‘Fallen Leaves’ is terrific, or I thought so. If you like him, I think you’ll like it. Haha, that ‘Critique’ damage. Well, and sorry too, of course. I love the full title! Wow, what a good title! It calls to mind the title of one of my favorite films (and favorite-ly titled films), Kluge’s ‘Artists Under the Big Top: Perplexed’. Thanks for the health wish. It might be working. ** Harper, Hi. The best thing people can do in Paris is just walk around for long intervals, and I’m guessing it’s the same there. We just got hot here, ugh. Iced espressos aren’t that great. I hear you on the grating aspect. I hope you can sneak off. It sounds possible. Stay cool and revved up. Me too. ** James Bennett, I’m from LA where everything is kind of a ‘kind of’. We like to hedge our bets, we Angelenos. I’m a 90+% bandcamp guy myself. I wish one could dance around there like one does on Spotify, but still. That’s where almost all the music I listen to resides. Generally I don’t listen to music while actually writing. It’s too hard. Beforehand to power up, for sure. I did write one my very earliest prose works, ‘My Mark’, only while listening to the live disc half of Joy Division’s ‘Still’ album as a structural principal. Now I can’t figure out how I manage to concentrate. Can you actually listen to music with singing/lyrics when you’re writing? That I can’t do at all. Like I said, I use bandcamp really most of the time. Soundcloud sometimes. The phlegm seems to be moving into my right ear, which is quite annoying even if it makes thinking a little easier. Happy early birthday! I hope you get hugely surprising and intuitively genius gifts. This weekend: our film is trapped in such a huge disastrous mess right now — it would take fifteen p.s.es to explain, so I won’t — that I assume the weekend will be spent trying to figure how to survive that. And feeling better, one hopes. And finding a friend willing to see ‘Twisters’ with me, one hopes. Your weekend sounds pretty potentially top. ** Justin D, Thanks, Justin. I think my health is upswinging, but we will see. Me too: my immune system is kind of miraculous, and I’m guessing it’ll put this cold to bed pretty quick. Thanks again, pal. What’s your weekend? ** Darby☃, I could use that snowman. No, you can’t touch the mouse. It’s art. There’s a guard stationed in the vicinity. I like Frankie without even having met Frankie. Stylish, that one. I’m feeling a little better. Hopefully the better feeling is not a prank. I guess I’ll find out. Elon Musk appears to be just about as miserable a human being as it is possible to be. So sorry about the mess with the papers. Ugh. Just keep forging ahead. Don’t let these mess makers trip you up. Enjoy the movie. Enjoy your friend. ** Right. Here’s a self explanatory post for you if ever was one. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
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Those Borremans oils are adorable. And I’d totally try some of the Campbells. Oliveira’s 5 Young Men looks like something straight out of one of your books.
Was at the Bruce Nauman show. Zzzzzz. But I did spot:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fWJdjGywkJb25ShCA
Good to hear you’re a bit better, Dennis. Hope the improvement continues.
Bill (1st, perhaps)
Hi!!
I’m so glad to hear you’re feeling better! I hope love pulls himself together and unclogs your right ear ASAP.
Thank you for today’s post! I guess it’s not entirely surprising that I like it a lot. Especially Michaël Borremans’s paintings. (And Selvik Wenshoel’s piercings.)
That huge Olympics thing does look like an oversized hot air balloon, so maybe your guess is accurate!
Oh, I’m not even complaining then. Your mosquito situation sounds a lot more serious than ours. We don’t have too many at the moment, but my mosquito bites tend to swell like crazy and make my arms/legs look all deformed, so they’re a nuisance even in relatively small numbers…
Love not cleaning the bathroom today, Od.
Toto Coelo – I Eat Cannibals from 1982 was a kind of UK novelty hit that is a rarity these days. The singles charts here seemed to be really up for grabs back then.
hi!
I’m glad you’re feeling better! re: today’s post, I don’t know if you’ve ever come across it, but there was this weird uptick of people (at least on twitter) into the idea of cannibalism after the movie “bones and all” came out like two years ago. it was kind of funny. I wonder if something similar will happen once guadagnino’s “queer” is released, but I can’t imagine what about it would suddenly be in vogue, haha. I’m not ready for a zoomer burroughs revival at the very least. yay about your hopefully reading the zine! I’m excited to hear what you’ll say. have a good day!
V enjoyable video essay about bones and all et al: https://youtu.be/5Cu15KcPN4k?feature=shared
Also : zoomer burroughs revival been and gone – we eat quick 😉
At the height of the cannibal craze i kept playing around with writing a novel about a parasitic stomach-replacing organism which; converted human fat from the ‘opposite sex’ into cross-sex hormonal fat redistribution, made you shit streams of bright magenta blood. early 2010s london – infecting the cast of an analogue for Channel 4’s Skins. Its in the pile..
that sounds like a really cool idea, you should work on it again sometime. esp with the skins cast thing. thanks for the video essays rec! I’ve seen some of her videos pop up but I wasn’t sure whether they were good. haha, yeah, I can attest to the burroughs having already been done; I kind of caused one among my friends about last winter or something. I’m just curious as to what more mainstream ‘challengers’ fan types would say about him.
Shit man you’re sick too, what a bummer, feel better soon! I feel like a human being for the first time in a week but am still not 100%. Likely COVID, though I didn’t take a test.
Sorry to hear about your film. Must be so frustrating.
When I was a teenager there was a sign at the grocery store to promote rotisserie chicken: a hen dressed like a grandma was serving chicken. My friends and I were amused and shocked that nobody else found this weird.
My favorite Bandcamp filter is Experimental > All Categories > New arrivals. What are your browsing habits like there?
Regarding my Japan trip, this is the general plan. I’m open to any suggestions.
1. Land in Tokyo
2. Tour Japan for 7-9 days. End the week at an airport where I can get a reasonably priced flight to Seoul.
3. Tour South Korea.
4. Fly back to Tokyo for another 1-3 days. Fly home from Tokyo.
there was actually a fair amount of gossip to comb through last night so didn’t get to it – cannibalism ! I can’t find it but I remember reading John Waters talk on cannibalism as topping from the bottom in some form or another – the receiver of the ‘meat’ here being the top as reversal of the norm – but if a sub ingests my pubic hair, nail clippings or dead skin he’s still bottoming – I guess the key word to signal difference there is ‘dead’ – the cut human flesh imaginary feels alive still – trying to think of a word that has the exact meaning of ‘y o n i c’ but which the typing of doesn’t require me to start doing yoga, crystals, ect. – “‘When people eat animals, the animals become more like people since they end up inside us. We’re the only ones in the house who don’t have Petronilha [now-butchered pet chicken] inside us. It’s too bad.'” … “The girl hadn’t forgotten what her mother had said about eating beloved animals: she ate more of Eponina [2nd pet chicken] than the rest of the family, she ate without appetite, but with near physical pleasure because now she knew this was how Eponina would be incorporated into her and become more hers than in life. They had cooked Eponina in a blood sauce. So the girl, in a pagan ritual transmitted to her from body to body through the centuries, ate her flesh and drank her blood. During this meal she was jealous of whoever else was eating Eponina too. The girl was a being made to love until she grew into a young woman and there were men.” – excerpt from Lispector’s short story A Tale of So Much Love – which I read for the first time the other day and became one of my favourites
((obviously the top/bottom dichotomy here does not, as those close to me would jump to point out, neatly map onto dominant and submissive – but, yeno, like, whatever))
Here they are, folks, Cannibal and the Headhunters
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=cannibal+and+the+headhynters&&mid=FCA530C2A192ABF3A253FCA530C2A192ABF3A253&&FORM=VRDGAR
Mel Gibson could have used a few Vodka Gibsons back in the day, but it’s too late now.
Dennis, Rest is the key. Sleep, particularly when we fall into deep sleep, is when our bodies repair themselves. But, if you’re not going to rest (and I get that), then defo double up on your C and D and get some B12 and zinc, and drink lots of water.
I hope you have a good weekend nonetheless. Onward and upward, no?
I’m going to a party tomorrow. Annual “Poehemia” party. Lots of food and music and all that. Alex is going with me, and Kayla. Should be fun.
Take care of yourself, Big D.
I hope the upswing continues. The situation with your film can’t be helping.
Has the Microsoft software outage affected Paris? My main bank’s ATM is not working today, and most stores are not able to accept credit cards right now. I bailed on my plans to have dinner with a friend and then see ENO tonight because I need to limit my spending till the ATM comes back online.
Have you seen any of the films inspired by Armin Meiwes? The “Eating People” photos are really nauseating.
I’ve always wondered why Goya, having depicted it elsewhere (Chronos, Cannibals Preparing, etc.), shied away from including cannibalism in The Disasters of War. Maybe there’s some book out there that has an answer. I’m leaving my teens in just a few weeks, which is crazy. Definitely not an era I see myself romanticising any time soon. My dad made a stray comment about me being the emotional parent which I’m still thinking about. But I’m sure this kind of complaint is overwrought so I shall bother you no further. Hopefully your miraculous immune system has had some time to work its magic and you’re feeling perkier than a nipple in Siberia. If that’s the case and you feel like some exercise I hear there’s a river you could swim in… and to believe that you’d have to be in-Seine.
Hey, Dennis! Glad you’re starting to feel better. Really interesting post/curation today. ‘Fires from the Sun’ conjures up images of ‘Lord of the Flies’. Those Nicola Samorì works are my favorites of the bunch. Really beautiful/evocative work. Not much planned for the weekend as of yet. Probably just work and errands. Other than getting better, what’s on the docket for your week’s end?
Hey! I went to Park Guell today which is the modernist playground Gaudi made. His house is in the park and I went there too. He had a modest bed with a terrifying Jesus hanging over it. Catholicism scares and fascinates me equally. It’s not a good time of year for going to Park Guell in my opinion, since it’s so hot with very little shade but it’s very wondrous for sure, and I do like Gaudi.
All the food I’ve had thus far is excellent, but Tapas is very confusing. You never know how much to order. Also, the sharing factor means that everyone eats all of your food before you even start. Barcelona is fairly vegetarian friendly, but the issue is that a lot of the menus don’t have a ‘v’ sign next to things that are vegetarian or a ‘ve’ next to vegan things.
The power in our place is going off and on again so we’re finding it difficult to cook. So that sucks. It took two hours to cook something simple for dinner. We were on the phone to different people the whole time.
Also went to the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona. I’m weirded out by how all the galleries in Europe (including the UK) sell the exact same stuff in the gift shops. An exhibition by someone called Jordi Colomer was a highlight, a curious selection of films and objects. There was of course a fair lot of erotic art with vaguely political titles that are a dime a dozen, some of it good, mostly totally derivative. Obviously, I’m into ‘erotic’ art and stuff, but I’m talking about a specific kind of thing that maybe you understand?
I’m going to break away tomorrow and do my own thing, luckily. I’m going to rest for a bit and hopefully see some things the tourist board doesn’t want you to see.
Hope you’re feeling okay and the cannibalism post isn’t a projection of weird sickly cravings haha. You are what you eat I guess.
Trying to recall the name of an old beau who was sleeeping with me at the same time he was having an affair with the great Robert Wilson. He was in Wilson’s “The King of Spain” but not any of the others. I adore “Deafman Glance>”
Hey Dennis,
I loved this cannibal post so thank you!
I’ve never heard LA characterised as a place where everything is “kind of” but I kind of get it.
I’m from small-town Ireland, which in the nineties when I was growing up was a pretty old-school, tight-knit, traditional kind of place. Kind-of-ness has since blossomed there though.
Speaking of LA, I just started reading Kenneth Anger’s book of salacious gossip “Hollywood Babylon” and I’m enjoying it.
Can I write with music that has singing/words? I haven’t actually tried it but I doubt I could. I enjoyed experimenting with ambient music this week because it seemed to help override inhibitions. I’m gonna try it again next week and see what happens.
I looked up “My Mark” out of curiosity and saw someone selling a first edition for $9000! Tbh if I was mega-rich I would probably get into collecting rare books. Anyway it turns out “My Mark” was right there in my as-yet-unstarted copy of “Wrong”. So I’ve started it.. although it seems you rolled it into a larger novella?
So sorry about the continued film shitshow. I hope something comes along to fix it or at least make up for it in the meantime.
Yours, me
Hi Dennis, my copy of Flunker arrived yesterday morning and Oh my god it is as fantastically DC as I’d hoped it would be! I’ve only read the first story so far, but couldn’t help leafing through the whole book. And that first story already gave me so much. The boy you have created! A gorgeous scultpure, indeed. I’m saving the rest for next week, so I can keep thinking about consuming it like a thrilling secret. Sending you so much love and respect, my friend. Hope you’re celebrating The Book!
‘Hiatus, cuz’ is, in fairness, pretty close to ‘Hi Oscar’ if you feel like you’ve got cement in your sinuses. Woah, what’s that? …. .. – / -.. .-. ..- — … – .. -.-. -.- … Message received? Okay, phew! I’ve been working really hard on my Morse code, just in case, but admittedly I’m still not very good — so that might not quite be the ‘Hey Dennis’ that I’d intended for it to be. Fingers crossed?
Cannibals! Aw, man. ‘Holes’ makes me, like, viscerally uncomfortable but in a fun way, although ‘Dinner – Eating People’ was probably not the best thing to look at while eating my actual breakfast (a very friendly bowl of granola). Think my favourite was probably ‘The Pleasures of the Table’? I just really dig it. Did you a have a yesterday favourite?
I just got sent two copies of ‘Flunker’ because of some totally random IT/admin issue on their end, but it’s nice to imagine someone saw my order and just thought ‘nah, this little guy deserves to get extra flunked up — double flunk him.’