Mechelse Auracana
CCP
The various phenotypes show characteristics of the nine different chicken breeds that were crossed into this generation of the Cosmopolitan Chicken Project / recognisable traits from Belgium, France, Great Britain, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, Thailand and Brazil.
Denizli Horozu
Turkey
Turkish domestic chicken, originally from the province of Denizli in Turkey / one of the oldest known breeds in Turkey (some claim it’s 500 years old, first mentioned by Leopold Fitzinger, an Austrian biologist, in 1878) / known for its long crowing (up to 35 seconds) / cultural link: comparison of the crowing with the 'adhan', the Islamic call to prayer by the muezzin, from a minaret
Expedition
Vanmechelen found the Denizli horozu in Germany, near Berlin, at a Turkish chicken farmer.
Birthplace of the first chicks
Meeuwen-Gruitrode, on Koen Vanmechelen's home farm
First showing
2 simultaneous exhibitions:
Cosmopolitan Chicken Project – Ten Generations
Deweer Art Gallery, Otegem (BE), 2007
Cosmopolitan Chicken Project
Galeri Artist, Istanbul (TR), 2007
The unexpected, the appeal of the chicken
Serendipity at work...
More than once, Germany turns out to be a supplier country of pure varieties. However, finding a pure breed is often due to the fact that the breeder is an immigrant...
While the pure Denizli's occur in many colour varieties (and are even subdivided by colour), the crossed specimens – unlike any previous crossbreed in the CCP - show great uniformity in colour.