Animal rights organization PETA has filed a complaint against the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg in Germany over the Damien Hirst facility where hundreds of flies died. In response, the city’s veterinary office issued a verbal warning to the museum, and the artwork has since been dismantled.
“We thought flies were not covered by the Animal Welfare Act,” Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg Director Andreas Beitin . said Braunschweiger olivesg.
The Exhibition “Strength! Light!”, through the show through Sunday, explores the ubiquitous presence of artificial light in modern life, and in particular its negative impact on the environment. Hearst contributed to its composition a hundred years. First introduced in 1990, it consists of a glass display case divided in half.
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Flies hatch in one side of the enclosure, and if they venture through a hole in the barrier, they will be directed toward artificial light—which burns the flies on contact. The course continues until the end of its exhibition.
Hirst described the artwork as a “life cycle in a box”. In the original iteration, flies were swarming around the head of a bloodied cow. Coordinator Hans-Ulrich Obrist describe it The work in its original form was described as “dangerous and frightening”.
“Killing animals has nothing to do with art, it just shows the arrogance of people who literally go after corpses for their own benefit,” PETA’s Peter Hofkin said in a statement. According to the German Animal Welfare Act, “there must be a valid reason for harming an animal.”
The art museum’s managing director, Otmar Boehmer, told DPA that the larvae were purchased from a fishing supplier and that the installation contained only a small portion of the hatched flies.
“We share the animal welfare organization’s basic idea that animals are not there to entertain or exploit,” he said.
The museum said it would contact Hearst’s studio to determine if it would be a hundred years They can be served with artificial flies. If not, he recommended not offering the job again.
ARTnews I reached out to a Hearst representative for comment.
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