It sounds like a great title for a book does it not? Ok, maybe it’s just me then. Even though the title sounds too unreal to possibly be believable, it’s true. There’s a poo machine on our planet right now. And no, it’s not your grandmother or your bald-headed cousin fresh out of the womb. It’s actually in a museum in Tasmania.
Australia can be a strange place and this is just one of the reasons why. Dubbed as an ‘adult Disneyland’, the Museum of Old and New Art features a number of works, such as Egyptian mummies and pieces of art by young artists from all over the world.
However, none of these is the main attraction. And that is the legendary poo machine. Created by Belgian artist Wim Delvoye, this machine is designed to replicate the human digestive system. It does so through a number of glass receptacles that hang in a row. The machine is then fed from one end and the device steadily digests its meal and then ejects it at 2pm daily.
The truth is that many visitors can’t handle the smell and some even throw up. I’ve no idea where they get its fuel from, but I’d like to think that it’s not from the staff. Surprisingly, the machine is actually hated by many visitors, and yet it also gets the most visits.
Now this certainly does challenge one’s interpretation of what art is. To me it seems more like a piece of engineering genius than anything else. If you look at the picture we have provided here then it looks more like an elegant machine than art. I would even argue that it could be used as a teaching tool to demonstrate the digestive system. Obviously, it wouldn’t be a live demonstration due to health and safety, however I think that a video link would be good.
This is not the only machine like this, though. This machine, which is actually named the Cloaca, is part of a series. Apparently, there are about five similar machines that have already been created by the artist. One of these poo machines will actually be exhibited at the Louvre in the very near future. Just don’t put it anywhere near the Mona Lisa or her facial expression will turn into a frown!
