Zhu Yu

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Zhu Yu (b. 1971 ^[1]) is a performance artist living in Beijing, China. His work deals with subjects of morality.

Yu's most famous piece of conceptual art, titled "Eating People," was performed at a Shanghai arts festival in 2000. It consisted of a series of photographs of him cooking and eating what is alleged to be a human fetus. ^[2] One picture, circulated on the internet via e-mail in 2001, provoked investigations by both the FBI and Scotland Yard. ^[2] The piece's canabilistic theme caused a stir in Britain when Yu's work was featured on a Channel 4 documentary exploring Chinese modern art in 2003. ^[3] In response to the public reaction, Mr. Yu stated, "No religion forbids cannibalism. Nor can I find any law which prevents us from eating people. I took advantage of the space between morality and the law and based my work on it." ^[3] Yu has claimed that he used an actual fetus which was stolen from a medical school. ^[4] However, close scrutinization of the picture would seem to indicate that it was in fact assembled from the head of a doll attached to the body of a duck. ^[2]

[edit] References

^ "'Artist' Eats Baby On TV." (January 2, 2003). Sky News. Retrieved July 8, 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mikkelson, Barbara. (June 19, 2001). "Fetus Feast. Urban Legends Reference Pages. Retrieved July 8, 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Baby-eating art show sparks upset." (January 3, 2003). BBC News. Retrieved July 8, 2006.
^ Rojas, Carlos. (2002). Cannibalism and the Chinese Body Politic: Hermeneutics and Violence in Cross-Cultural Perception. Post Modern Culture, 12 (3). Retrieved July 8, 2006.