This artwork, 'Chicken Nuggets' by Gurt Swanenberg, is an oil painting on wood panel incorporating chicken skulls, created in 2020. It is part of his larger project 'Civilisation,' which critically examines modern consumption and its environmental impact.
Gurt Swanenberg's artwork 'Chicken Nuggets,' created in 2020, is a striking piece rendered in oil on multiplex and incorporating chicken skulls. Measuring 10 x 10 x 8 cm, it serves as a tangible representation of his broader project, 'Civilisation.' This project critically engages with the concept of 'materie,' interpreted by Swanenberg as everything we consume daily, and posits a society that has elevated consumption to a form of religion. 'Civilisation' depicts a world driven by decadence and overconsumption, where a relentless migration of people consumes resources, leaving behind desolation for others, akin to a plague of locusts.
Swanenberg, a visual artist born in 1976, consistently addresses themes of mass culture, consumption, and transience in his work. He uses recognizable elements from the food industry and objects like bones and skulls as his canvases, confronting viewers with their own lifestyles and the human impact on the environment. His practice often involves creating installations where paintings and sculpted elements combine to form a cohesive statement. Previous exhibitions of his work have been featured at events and institutions such as the Kunstenfestival Watou (2018), the Noordbrabants Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch (2016), and the LAM Museum Lisse/VanDenBroek Foundation (2014). 'Chicken Nuggets' was submitted as an entry for the Open Call EXODUS, a project by the Bijbels Museum and Buitenplaats Doornburgh.