Paula Lehtonen - Guests of Honor

Media artist Paula Lehtonen (b. 1983) presents in her video work Guests of Honor chickens arriving at a dinner table set in their honour. The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is the most common bird in the world, with an estimated global population of around 30 billion. Despite this, chickens are not visible everywhere. Most live short lives in cramped industrial facilities lit by artificial light. Chickens are intelligent animals that, in suitable conditions, show affection, experience happiness and frustration, understand time, and communicate with one another. 

The video work Guests of Honor seeks to present this species – typically regarded as a production animal – as equal to humans, while questioning the ways in which animals are kept. In a world where chickens are classified as products rather than individual beings, simply recognising their beauty can be a radical act.