Mechelse Danske
CCP
The various phenotypes display the characteristics of the twenty-one different breeds of chicken 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, Brazil, Turkey, Cuba, Italy, Russia, China, Egypt, Senegal, Slovenia, Austria, Indonesia, Detroit and Denmark.
Maatiaskana
Finland
Came to Finland during the Ice Age, now almost 2000 years ago / this domestic variety was almost completely supplanted during the 1960s by new, more productive import varieties / since then, their numbers have increased again - Finland has 12 populations, each named after the region in which they live.
Expedition
Since vaccinating animals is prohibited in Finland, introducing the Maatiaskana into the PCC meant a lot of practical problems had to be overcome. To circumvent the vaccination issue, the solution was to export Finnish eggs to the artist's farm in Meeuwen, where they were hatched and then crossed.
Birthplace of the first chicks
Meeuwen-Gruitrode, on Koen Vanmechelen's home farm. In the autumn of 2017, eggs from the cross were also sent to the Serlachius Museum, where over the next few months they grew into beautiful Mechelse Maatiaskanas!
First showing
It’s About Time
Gösta Serlachius Museum of Fine Arts, Mänttä (FI), 2018
The unexpected, the appeal of the chicken
Serendipity at work...
The Maatiaskana is the basis of a generation in the CCP and also in the PCC. That generation is still continuing to breed there.
