The Family
Fiberglass
150 x 150 x 450 cm
Location: Rabobank, Heinenoord (NL)
Biogas Installation Open View
Fiberglass
79 x 58 x 34 cm
Biogas Installation Open View
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Male Slave University
Mixed media
490 x 490 x 110 cm
Male Slave University is the educational centre for the male slaves in SlaveCity. The building is shaped as a heptagon with seven large, impressive auditoriums which are centred around a central multifunctional space. This model of Male Slave University has a cut-away and reveals the interior of the lecture halls, dormitories and teacher’s lounge. Male Slave University is made to train the slaves for better performance and operates 24/7 in three shifts; 7 hours of study, 7 hours of work on the land or other supportive activities and 7 hours of sleep. The remaining 3 hours can be used for personal care such as eating, washing and relaxing. The Slave University offers room for 1896 students and has 632 places to work, 632 sleeping-accommodations and 124 toilet units linked to an environmental friendly biogas installation.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Minimal Steel
Mixed media
155 x 108 x 84 cm
The ‘participants’ of SlaveCity are not being paid for their work in the call-centres. Instead of a payment they receive privileges, such as a visit to a brothel – both for male and female slaves. The brothels for the higher-class slaves are far more luxurious than those for the lower class slaves. In the triangular shaped 5 Star Brothel for Males the slaves can choose between different kinds of pleasure.
A stylized architectural model of a brothel, Minimal Steel is part of SlaveCity (2005 – 2008), a fictional yet functional city-state populated by workers whose every function is calculated to maximize profits and minimize waste. These workers – slaves – do not receive wages but privileges instead, such as a visit to a brothel – both for male and female slaves.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Female Slave University
Mixed media
520 x 450 x 150 cm
Female Slave University is a model of the elegant and efficiently designed education center within SlaveCity, a contemporary labour camp. It consists of 12 auditoriums piled up and surrounded by slopes. There are two Slave Universities, one for males and one for females. On top of the Female Slave University is a meeting room for the professors, who are the only ones receiving payment for their work in this building. The other rooms are for the female slaves who are being educated to function good and efficient within the objectives of SlaveCity. The Female Slave University goes on 24/7, the slaves are functioning in 7 hour shifts (7 hours of study, 7 hours of work on the grounds or other supportive activities, 7 hours of rest and 3 hours of personal care such as eating, washing and relaxing). The Female Slave University offers room for 1896 female students and has 632 places to work, 632 sleeping-accommodations and 124 toilet units linked to an environmental friendly biogas installation.
Powerplant
Fiberglass
590 x 190 x 190 cm
SlaveCity Powerplant, Energy production center of SlaveCity Collection Belgacom, Brussels.
Except the many necessary infrastructure and service buildings there is also a sumptuous head office, safe and cosy villages for the higher employees, education facilities, health centres, and brothels and museums were the participants can relax.
Luxurious Female Brothel
Fiberglass
107 x 84 x 100 cm
For the women slaves there is a luxury brothel in the shape of a giant sperm. It’s very much about the survival of the fittest. The men enter at the tail; they have to struggle and fight their way to the front. The cleverest, meanest or strongest guys arrive in the arena to the cheers of the women. The final battle takes place and then the women take the survivor into a cubicle to have sex. A parallel to social Darwinism.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Baby
Fiberglass
120 x 70 x 115 cm
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Les Mammifères
Fiberglass
160 x 110 x 65 cm
Les Mammifères shows a mother feeding her two children. The work, consisting of a female figure and two smaller figures, presents an improbable image of the act of breastfeeding that surpasses all social conventions and taboos.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Woman on Bed
Fiberglass
167 x 114 x 94 cm
Both Woman Large and Woman on Bed show us scale models of the slaves which are deployed in the Male Brothels of Slave City. The ‘participants’ of Slave City are not being paid for their work in the call centers. Instead of a payment they receive privileges such as a visit to a brothel.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Sanitary unit
Wood, steel
71 x 18 x 25 cm
SlaveCity Sanitary unit/ Shower unit/ Work Sleep unit.
Before entering SlaveCity and becoming one of its inhabitants, you have to pass the Welcoming Center. In this large building the participants are selected for their suitability to come and work in SlaveCity. Old, cripple, sick and bad tasting people will be recycled in the biogas digester. Healthy, not so clever people, will be recycled in the meat processing factory. Young and very healthy people will be able to take part in the organ transplant program. Healthy, clever people will go to work in the CallCenter.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
5 Star Brothels for Males
Fiberglass
68 x 73 x12 cm
The ‘participants’ of SlaveCity are not being paid for their work in the call centers. Instead of a payment they receive privileges such as a visit to a brothel. The brothels for the higher-class slaves are far more luxurious. In this triangle shapes brothel the slaves can choose between different kinds of pleasure.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Mini Modular Brothels
Wood
120 x 120 x 270 cm
The ‘participants’ of SlaveCity are not being paid for their work in the call centers. Instead of a payment they receive privileges such as a visit to a brothel. Designed for the lower-class slaves, the modular brothel mixes the style of Bauhaus, a Socialist Plattenbau and a ramshackle wood construction.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Skull On Stand
Fiberglass
140 x 85 x 190 cm
Skull On Stand (2005) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘SlaveCity’, De Pont, Tilburg (NL), 2016
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
AVL Workskull
Fiberglass
150 x 150 x 165 cm
AVL Workskull is designed for large offices as a secluded place, where employees can work alone undisturbed, have more privacy for phone calls or retreat from the world.
AVL Workskull (2005) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Roof Installation’, ROOF-A, Rotterdam (NL), 2021
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Thin Man
Fiberglass
90 x 210 x 112 cm
Thin Man is one of the Atelier Van Lieshout’s sculptures that reflects upon our extremely advanced and complex society in which over-consumption and limited raw materials play a crucial role. Once supplies are exhausted society will see a harshening of relations between people and increased survival instinct which raises the question whether such radical changes, which are coupled with violence but which may also lead to a new improved society, are good or bad.
Black Funnelman
Fiberglass
108 x 55 x 38 cm
Black Funnelman is part of the project Technocrat (2003-2005), an installation which presents the public with a closed circuit of food, alcohol, excrement and energy, with humans as the one of the cogwheels. Central to this closed system is a biogas installation that processes human excrement into methane gas. By way of funnels and tubes, a thousand participants are administered on a daily basis with food and alcohol that have been prepared with this gas. The Technocrat reveals Van Lieshout’s fascination with organizations and systems, and the (ir)relevance of the individual as part of a whole.
Black Funnelman (2006) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Recover/Uncover’, Masa Galeria, Mexico City (MX), 2020
Dancing Family
Fiberglass
202 x 175 x 150 cm
The Emaciated
Fiberglass
200 x 57 x 127 cm
Before entering SlaveCity and becoming one of its inhabitants, you have to pass the Welcoming Center. In this large building the participants are selected for their suitability to come and work in SlaveCity. Old, cripple, sick and bad tasting people will be recycled in the biogas digester. Healthy, not so clever people, will be recycled in the meat processing factory. Young and very healthy people will be able to take part in the organ transplant program. Healthy, clever people will go to work in the CallCenter.
Society
Fiberglass
195 x 115 x 75 cm
Happy Family
Fiberglass
135 x 170 x 100 cm
Half Standing Hollow Man
Fiberglass
70 x 60 x 300 cm
De Gedragen Man
Fiberglass
145 x 150 x 145 cm
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
The Caretakers
Fiberglass
200 x 100 x 100 cm
AVL’s inspirations often come from classical artworks whose qualities are more hidden. In earlier days, artists were dependent on patrons and their commissions. The church and wealthy families gave an assignment to make an artwork according to a special theme or occasion. Despite the constraints, artists managed to produce superior works by adopting a special style and by using a strong technique. These days, such commissions have all but disappeared; the new patrons – from collectors to the state – make other demands on the contemporary artist, who must make a work and create room to express themselves as well.
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Fermenting Vessel with Man
Plastic, fiberglass, steel
330 x 210 x 155 cm
In the large-scale installation The Technocrat human faeces is transformed into biogas. The one thousand participants in this production process lie on bunk beds with tubes attached to their anuses. They are fed constantly to guarantee a fresh supply of excrement. Alcohol keeps them sedated and happy. The biogas produced is used to cook food and distil alcohol, creating a perfect, circular system with man as a cog in the machine.
Fermenting Vessel with Man (2004) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014
‘Infernopolis’, Submarinewharf, Rotterdam (NL), 2010
‘Das Haus’, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen (DE), 2008 – 2009
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Arschmänner
Fiberglass, plastic
400 x 350 x 55 cm
Man as a miniscule cog in the machine. Only expected to consume and excrete. The Arschmänner are part of The Technocrat, a circular system that reduces man to a digestive tract. Alcohol and food go in, waste comes out and is turned into biogas, which — in turn — is used to cook and distil alcohol.
Aschmänner (2004) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
‘SlaveCity’, Zuecca Project Space, Venice (IT), 2016
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014
‘Infernopolis’, Submarinewharf, Rotterdam (NL), 2010
‘Das Haus’, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen (DE), 2008 – 2009
‘The Technocrat’, Sprengel Museum, Hannover (DE), 2004 – 2005
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
The American Caretakers
AVL’s inspirations often come from classical artworks whose qualities are more hidden. In earlier days, artists were dependent on patrons and their commissions. The church and wealthy families gave an assignment to make an artwork according to a special theme or occasion. Despite the constraints, artists managed to produce superior works by adopting a special style and by using a strong technique. These days, such commissions have all but disappeared; the new patrons – from collectors to the state – make other demands on the contemporary artist, who must make a work and create room to express themselves as well.
Hanging Michelangelo
Fiberglass
Location: private collection.
Hanging Michelangelo (2004) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘25 Years of the Falckenberg Collection’, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg (DE), 2019 – 2020
Man and Wagon
Dickhead
Sensory deprivation Collection Rainer Ganahl, New York
The Caretaker
Fiberglass
110 x 180 x 90 cm
AVL’s inspirations often come from classical artworks whose qualities are more hidden. In earlier days, artists were dependent on patrons and their commissions. The church and wealthy families gave an assignment to make an artwork according to a special theme or occasion. Despite the constraints, artists managed to produce superior works by adopting a special style and by using a strong technique. These days, such commissions have all but disappeared; the new patrons – from collectors to the state – make other demands on the contemporary artist, who must make a work and create room to express themselves as well.
Kidney Bladder Combination
Fiberglass
540 x 220 x 85 cm
Kidney Bladder Combination is part of a series of colourful fibreglass sculptures that Atelier Van Lieshout produced in the early 00’s: a complete series of human internal organs. For Van Lieshout, the ‘Organ’ series were a way to take a step away from design, and to focus on the pure functionality of systems and materials instead. By taking away design choices and faring on either rationale or that which nature has given us, Van Lieshout researched what the hand of the artist actually means. These works are a stylized representation of the interior of the human body, almost perfect anatomical renditions of the organs that keep us going, the artist turned inside-out. In that sense ‘Organ’ series can also be seen as an attempt of the artist to get a grip on the mysterious but incredibly well-functioning system of the human body.
Kidney Bladder Combination (2003) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014
‘Happy Forest’, Kröller Müller Museum, Otterlo (NL), 2005
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Autocomposter
Fiberglass, steel
180 x 180 x 560 cm
This composting machine is part of The Technocrat, a closed system in which human bodies transform food and alcohol into biogas. It turns excess waste into compost for food crops.
Autocomposter (2003) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
‘ArtZuid’, Amsterdam (NL), 2017
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014
‘Infernopolis’, Submarinewharf, Rotterdam (NL), 2010
‘Happy Forest’, Kröller Müller Museum, Otterlo (NL), 2005
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Laocoon
Fiberglass
280 x 190 x 150 cm
In Greek mythology Laocoon is the Trojan priest who warned his fellow citizens about the crafty Greeks, but who was swallowed by sea serpents sent by Poseidon, the god of the sea. In AVL’s take on this classic sculptural theme, the figures merge into an amorphous form. Body parts meld and are distorted in a celebration of friendship and unity.
Laocoon (2003) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
‘Ferrotopia’, NDSM, Amsterdam (NL), 2018
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Alcoholator
Fiberglass, steel
1050 x 220 x 260 cm
The only thing the one thousand participants in The Technocrat have to do is eat and provide a constant supply of faeces for biogas production. To keep them happy and docile they are not only fed, but also administered three hefty, daily doses of alcohol. The Alcoholator distils 40% proof alcohol from kitchen scraps, 1,800 litres every day. Its design is red and curvy, sexy and seductive.
Alcoholator (2004) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Let’s Get Physical’, Atelier Van Lieshout, Rotterdam (NL), 2020 – 2021
‘Vrijstaat’, Kasteel Keukenhof, Lisse (NL), 2014
‘Infernopolis’, Submarinewharf, Rotterdam (NL), 2010
‘Das Haus’, Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen (DE), 2008 – 2009
‘The Disciplinator’, MAK Museum, Vienna (AT), 2005
‘The Technocrat’, Sprengel Museum, Hannover (DE), 2004 – 2005
For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com
Die Wissenschaftler
Fiberglass
Diverse measurements
Commission
Location: Staatliches Vermögens Konstanz (DE)