Insatiable Automatons


In fiction and in practice, machines that replicate human bodies tend to reproduce useful or desirable functions related to cognizance, physical labor, or sex, but for seven years, Wim Delvoye has chosen to duplicate a less alluring process. His series of 'Cloaca' machines mimic the whole of the human digestive system, eating, digesting, and yes, excreting in the gallery. He has produced seven versions of the machine to date, and they have been shown in cities around the world, where local restaurants donate leftovers and scraps to feed the insatiable works while they are in residence. From September 30th to January 6th, the exhibition Wim Delvoye: Cloaca 2000-2007 at the Casino Luxembourg Forum d'Art Contemporain offers the first overview of the complete series with all seven machines installed in its galleries--two of them actually performing the functions for which they were designed--along with original drawings, photographs, models, sealed bags of machine-produced excrement, and other materials related to the project. Heavily branded with a self-consciously glossy logo and released in generations ('Cloaca Original,' 'Super Cloaca,' 'Cloaca N