Wim Delvoye (born 1965 in Wervik, West Flanders)[1] is a Belgian neo-conceptual artist widely recognized for combining in his inventive and often shocking projects philosophical ideas, innovative use of materials, and a passion for craftsmanship.

[3] Shortly thereafter, Delvoye began painting over wallpaper and carpets, coloring in the existing patterns and defying the tendency towards free expression vibrant in the art world at the time.

Delvoye’s artistic exploration encompasses various aspects of art history, drawing inspiration both from Gothic cathedrals and 19th-century sculptures and the works by Bosch, Brueghel, and Warhol.

In the late 80s, Delvoye applied Dutch ornamental traditions (i.e. Delft china patterns and coats of arms) to mundane objects like shovels, gas cylinders, and ironing boards.

In 2004, he extended this medium by exhibiting stuffed pigs and by expanding his tattoo vernacular to include Louis Vuitton patterns and images of Disney princesses.

By adorning pigskin with these iconic images, the artist raises thought-provoking questions about the commercial value of brands and challenges the conventional expectations of consumer society.

The machine that simulates the human digestive system, from the process of feeding with various mix of food to the production of the realistic wastes, Cloaca is based on real scientific and technical expertise.

Delvoye is perhaps best known for his digestive machine, Cloaca, which he unveiled at the Museum voor Hedendaagse Kunst, Antwerp, after eight years of consultation with experts in fields ranging from plumbing to gastroenterology.

[5] As a comment on the Belgians' love of fine dining, Cloaca is a large installation that turns food into feces, allowing Delvoye to explore the digestive process.

In his large mechanism, food begins at a long, transparent bowl (mouth), travels through a number of machine-like assembly stations, and ends in hard matter which is separated from liquid through a cylinder.

[11] Delvoye also creates oversized laser-cut steel sculptures of objects typically found in construction (like a cement truck[12]), customized in seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque style.