Expedition

Vanmechelen found specimens of the Louisiana in northern France, at a cockfight. Attending the fights was a strange experience: it’s a rather primitive ritual with strict rules for the attendant men and women and for tying the spurs with their pins and knives onto the cocks. The first round of the cockfight that Vanmechelen attended still seemed fairly sedate - the Louisiana is a 'rolling cock': it rolls itself defensively before proceeding to the real confrontation. The bloodlust displayed by protagonists in the second round – with one cock using his pin to slice open the artery of his opponent with great precision – makes the artist go all rubbery-legged for a moment.