Second Livestock, a virtual reality world for battery-farmed
chickens, draws parallels between how we treat animals and
how we treat ourselves. Through a straight-faced parody of
Second Life (a virtual reality world for humans) the project
attracts non-traditional art audiences to a conversation
about the reasons behind and consequences of people
choosing to spend more of their lives in virtual spaces. The
work exists as a website and performance.
The performance consists of a presentation, an interactive
demonstration of Second Livestock, and an open
discussion. The vocabulary of the presentation and visual
language of all related media mocks the marketing devices
and hype of technology firms introducing new, “disruptive”
technologies.
The artist performs the presentation in the persona of
the CEO of Second Livestock. After the presentation the
audience is invited to participate in an open discussion and
experience the VR world through a “prototype” of the CCI
(Chicken-Computer Interface). This prototype consists of a
VR Headset and a custom-made omni-directional treadmill.