Atelier Van Lieshout (founded by Joep van Lieshout, b. 1963 in Ravenstein, lives and works in Rotterdam) has a longstanding history of making art that challenges audiences to reconsider the role of animals in society. In light of our growing disconnection from the natural world, his work encourages us to rethink the functions we attribute to animals, both symbolically and literally.
Le Cri takes the form of an overblown bird. Its exaggerated size and grotesque shape nod to performance-enhancing technologies commonly used in industrial livestock farming. Engineered to win agricultural competitions, it embodies a vision in which animals are, at best, trophies. The title of the work refers to one of the most iconic paintings of the Expressionist movement, suggesting an analogy between animal suffering and human existential angst. But as with all works of Atelier Van Lieshout, Le Cri navigates a fine line between candidness and irony, provocation and playfulness.
