Artist: Leslie Roth
Title: Stew
Attribution: Stew, 2022, Leslie Roth, photograph by Paul Rogers Photography
Year: 2022
Materials: Recycled plastic bottle, cardboard, newspaper; yarn, wood, polymer clay, stuffing, tacks
Dimensions: 17" x 8" x 5"
Image Statement: Our throw-away culture with its hyper-consumeristic imperative informs the treatment of animals raised in the industrial agriculture model. Rather than seeing chickens as sentient beings, they are products for consumption, only existing for our use. This attitude makes possible inhumane and abusive practices at every step in the animals’ lives. Stew, with his anthropomorphic characteristics and body of reclaimed materials, challenges the notion that chickens lack agency are just an item on the menu.