A-Z of Exhibition for Chickens
Jared Schiller
A is for AUDIENCE
Exhibition for Chickens is an exhibition for animals. Specifically, it’s an exhibition for chickens, but it is also for ducks, geese, goats and humans. There are other examples of exhibitions for animals: Exhibition for Chickens artist Amalia Pica transformed a museum in Guatemala into a house/museum for Crickets. Luke Gottelier made a replica of a painting studio for hamsters. However in these works it could also be argued that the animals were part of a performance, and the audience were human visitors. In an outdoor sculpture park the work is witnessed by wild birds, foxes, badgers and so on, but they are not the intended audience. Exhibitions for dogs also crop up a lot.
B is for BUILDINGS
Exhibition for Chickens has taken place across a number of sites: chicken houses, a goat shelter, a goose house, a broody hen’s house and work was hung on fences and in and around trees. Anywhere chickens would naturally gather.
C is for COLOUR
Chickens have a wide field of vision and see in colour. In fact they see a far wider spectrum of light than humans, including ultraviolet. According to Professor Graham Martin of the University of Birmingham these traits could make Exhibition for Chickens something of a problem: “If I see a work of art and don’t like it, I can walk away from it…but for a chicken the world flows all around and even above it.”
D is for DANCE
Exhibition for Chickens features the world’s first commissioned dance choreographed just for chickens.
E is for EGGS
Eggs feature prominently in a number of works shown at Exhibition for Chickens. A snoring egg in a looping film by Goshka Macuga; colourful eggs in the homage to Andy Warhol by Harry Pye; a nest of blackbird eggs by George Shaw; a geometric, monochromatic etching by Paul Heber-Percy. Andy Holden’s documentary ‘A Social History of Egg Collecting’ was also screened as part of the Exhibition for Chickens Festival of Moving Image.
F is for FLU
In 2020 owners of fowl such as chickens were asked to keep their charges indoors to help prevent the spread of Avian Flu. The new indoor setting led to the development of the Exhibition for Chickens Festival of Moving Image and most recently the Exhibition for Chickens Project Space.
G is for GOATS
Exhibition for Chickens nearly ended in disaster after two marauding goats ate the majority of the artworks. Luckily the works were largely reproductions and were quickly re-printed and re-hung.
H is for HP PRINTER INK
At vast personal cost to the curator, works for Exhibition for Chickens were printed out using a home colour printer using ink more expensive than diamonds.
I is for INSTAGRAM
A problematic platform owned by Facebook though not quite as bad, that nevertheless made the organisation of Exhibition for Chickens possible. The Exhibition for Chickens Instagram page is @exhibitionforchickens.
J is for JERSEY
A larger than expected cluster of entries to Exhibition for Chickens hailed from the bohemian New Jersey town of Leonia, N.J, a suburb of New York City located near to the George Washington Bridge.
K is for KIEREN CULKIN
Kieren Culkin is the brother of Macaulay Culkin, famed for his role in Home Alone. An anagram of Macaulay Culkin is I, a clucky man? Which is what he would say if he tried to sneak into Exhibition for Chickens in the guise of a hen or cockerel, and was then challenged by a security guard.
L is for LOCKDOWN
Exhibition for Chickens began during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, during the first national lockdown. It was a time when many people needed “something to do”. It was something to do.
M is for MEDIA
Although the submission guidelines for the first exhibition stated that work should be sent as digital files that could be printed out at A4 size, work for Exhibition for Chickens took many different forms: sound and video installations, performed instructions, poetry, sculpture, laminated signs, site-specific interventions, and so on.
N is for NEPOTISM
Exhibition for Chickens features artwork by no fewer than six close members of the curator’s family.
O is for OPEN SUBMISSION
The first Exhibition for Chickens was an open-call that accepted work from any artist interested in showing work to the chickens. The thinking behind this was that any embarrassment caused by showing poor quality work of questionable taste would be balanced out by not having to go through the painful ordeal of turning people down. In the end, though, every work submitted was of high quality and impeccable taste.
P is for P-Y GERBEAU
The flamboyant Frenchman famous for his management of the Millennium Dome is now Chief Executive Officer of London Resort Company Holdings. The company is developing a new Theme Park - London Resort - on brownfield land in Swanscombe, Kent, some 40 miles from the site of Exhibition for Chickens. Swanscombe is home to 1991 species of invertebrates that the E for C audience would no doubt love to eat were they not about to be concreted out of existence.
Q is for QUEEN ELIZABETH II
The Queen’s son, Prince Charles, is very keen on chickens. The Daily Telegraph reports that on account of this enthusiasm for poultry his home, Highgrove, is nick-named ‘Cluckingham Palace’. Similarly, Tatler reports that ‘Clodagh McKenna, fiancée to the Honourable Harry Herbert, CEO of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, started keeping hens last year, who have names like ‘Eggy Pop’ and ‘Yolko Ono’. Such news is why as far as possible Exhibition for Chickens has a strict no-pun policy.
R is for RISHI SUNAK
On 13 May 2020 the BBC reported that chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak ‘mistakenly joined a Tory rebellion against the government over post-Brexit food import standards. Mr Sunak voted digitally for a change to the Agriculture Bill that would have guaranteed a ban on chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef.’
S is for SOCIAL DISTANCING
From inception up until restrictions are lifted Exhibition for Chickens has operated a strict socially distant model. No members of the public have been admitted and it is expected that human visitor numbers will remain low for the foreseeable future.
T is for TURNER CONTEMPORARY
Turner Contemporary, located in Margate, is perhaps the least difficult contemporary art venue to reach from the site of Exhibition for Chickens, a fact that underlines the struggle that the chickens have in accessing culture. The chickens would have first had to get themselves to Ashford where they could catch a train down to the coast, it’s then a far longer walk than you expect along the seafront to the gallery, and even then they might have gone on a Monday when it is closed. Therefore, Exhibition for Chickens was born in order to bring art to them - no train ticket required!
U is for UNTITLED
43% of works exhibited at Exhibition for Chickens so far are titled ‘untitled’.
V is for VALUE
Chickens cannot ascribe value to an artwork, as far as we know, however they have been proved able to do maths! A Google search for ‘can chickens do maths’ turned up this article.
W is for WOODLAND
Chickens are at their happiest living in open woodland. It suits their natural behaviour, scratching around in mud, and provides brilliant shelter and places to nest. Exhibition for Chickens is on the site of what was ancient woodland. Relatively recently, capitalist farming methods and development have been responsible for destroying vast swathes of ancient woodland, along with wildlife, natural habitats and entire ecosystems.
X is for XYLOPHONE
A chicken’s beak would make an ideal mallet for a xylophone - as they are attached to their bodies it would be a bit like a person playing the bongos with their hands.
Y is for YOUTUBE
A problematic platform owned by the parent company of Google and serving up mis-information, dubious advertising and copyright infringement, all whilst hoovering up vast amounts of personal data, YouTube is home to an official Exhibition for Chickens Channel, featuring all the videos, interviews, curators tours and much, much more.
Z is for ZANY
Exhibition for Chickens is a really zany idea.