Feed

This sculpture of a fistulated bovine is presented, filled with candy-corn.  The technique of inserting a rumen cannula was invented by agricultural scientists to reach inside a living cow's stomach to study the digestion process in pursuit of developing better food. The process was developed only after they began to notice bovine health issues from feeding a corn-based diet. In the gallery the viewer is invited to put on gloves and reach inside the cow to grab a piece of candy-corn.  The candy is processed food, addressing socioeconomic concerns in our society. Candy-corn is one of the cheapest and least nutritious options on the market, made from corn syrup, food coloring, and preservatives.  As the decisions of our food supply get increasingly driven by for-profit industry, we create a bio-system that can not sustain life without constant human intervention (monocultures).  Reaching inside the sculpture represents this violation of nature, asking the viewer to contemplate their role as a consumer as the cow is literally and metaphorically feeding them .

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