Here’s one of those strange internet stories that fragments itself across the web. Yahoo China ran some pictures of Wim Delvoye’s pig farm in Beijing where he raises animals to tattoo and to harvest the skins later for sale. Another Chinese site, People’s Daily Online, ran some more pictures with captions and Shanghailist–which covered the previous pig controversy during SHContemporary–adds these market details:

In 2008, we reported that the skins could fetch about 7,500 euros a piece. Today, each canvas can set you back by as much as 1 million RMB (or about 111,000 euros), if reports by Chinese news agencies are to be believed.

Delvoye’s own site offers information on the pigs which can be bought as skins or taxidermied whole animals. He’s also been quoted in the Daily Mail as saying “The pigs are a nice allegory that makes us think about what art means to us, and where the line exists between what art is and what art isn’t.”

Belgian Artist Wim Delvoye Tattooing Pigs (Again) (Shanghailist.com)
Yahoo! China on Delvoye Pigs (Yahoo!)
Pigs Tattooed in ‘Art Farm’ (People’s Daily Online)
Inky and Perky (Daily Mail)
Art Farm (Wim Delvoye)