Bizarre Fish Head Art Turns Heads on Humanity
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Inspired by the silent movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, artist, stage designer, and photographer Anne-Catherine Becker-Echivard uses real-life fish heads in ‘staged sets’ on humanity to create her photos that depict everyday-life to address topics ranging from Aids to repression.
Fish rendering factory, “Modern Times.” Photo Telegraph
From elaborately designed images of asexual assembly line workers to mug shots of the FBI’s Most Wanted list, the French artist’s designs portray messages that target serious topics of human affairs to instill emotions of loneliness, intimacy, humility, membership and musical addiction, fused with an edge of humor.
Emergency
Sushi Bar
Anne-Catherine gleans her inspiration from events in the media on radio or TV, and fishes for her pungent art materials at the vast Rungis food market in Paris — the world’s largest wholesale produce market, or at her local store in Chinatown.
“Fish are a great method of communicating my opinions on this world.” says the 37-year-old artist.
“The eyes are very important in the picture, and they must be dark.” she explains.
Fish have a bone to pick with world pollution. Photo Telegraph
Based in Berlin, the artist began using mackerel and sardine as her piscine medium 11 years ago, fitting fresh fish heads onto plastic doll bodies or wire forms. Using wood, cardboard, paint, and other materials, she creates her unique scenes of a living humanity set that are up to 6 feet (2 meters) long, which can take months to complete.
Her mother designs the protagonist fish model’s costumes for the theater of animal images, turning the entire production into a family affair.
“It is meticulous work which takes time.” she says. But despite the serious topics, she doesn’t take herself too seriously.
“Using fish can be a very obviously silly way of expressing a variety of emotions.” she admits. “But there is a little of me in each of my projects.”
Anne-Catherine’s familiarity with fish goes back to her childhood when she used to vacation in the village of Pirou on the Normandy coast, where she learned to fish.
“I learned to catch them, to stack them in racks, to scale and clean them on the boat, and to smoke them myself.”
“My brother and I played with them like dolls. I loved to have a sardine or a mackerel in my pocket.”
It became a full-blown obsession when the artist took 9 months of instruction in documentary photography in 1997.
Photo Wanted Paris
Made In China highlights the plight of the toy market. Photo Telegraph
Photo Wanted Paris
Once her intricately scaled-down scenes of everyday life are cast, she treats her models with wet paper during photo shoots which can take an entire day.
“It’s hot under the spotlights, so I just take care that my lead doesn’t get cooked before he gets his chance at fame.” she says fondly.
Once the shots are completed the props are discarded, but the fish don’t go to waste — Anne-Catherine later cooks them over an open flame and invites friends and family for dinner, pointing out which character they’re feasting on.
Photo Wanted Paris
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The Wall. Photo Wanted Paris
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Museum of History. Photo Wanted Paris
Museum of History. Photo Wanted Paris
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Eternal Jimi. Photo Wanted Paris
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wow. :O this is some brilliant stuff. it’s amazing what the artist can do, and what emotions can be evoked, using those fish heads.
wew very-very funny pics..
surprisingly cute!
Ok, it’s interesting, but frankly fish heads are just disgusting to me… Turns my stomach (why i don’t eat fish unless it’s battered and fried and served with chips!) – but that’s definately a LOT of work…
This is amazing art. Using fish heads…and they are all so funny and real looking. I’m impressed!
Wow, cannot belive my eyes, really great work, Are these are done by computer graphics or the real pictures? Clarify me guys,
Love to have them in my room’s wall,specially the picture where they are with Japanese traditional dress, Cheers.
The fish heads were simply out-of-sight. Remained me of my fishing days in south FL. They were always looking at you as you cleaned them. Guess they never sleep–eyes are always open, sad.
Decided to have fish for supper tomorrow.
Ron Russell’s last blog post..Wednesdays Walk on the Wild Side 4
These are really terrible looking. Next you know, the PETA animal rights group will get involved. The artist rally exemplifies some wonderful creativity however.
its wonderful but i want to know more about this art