Although many contemporary artists’ use of meat feels fresh and revolutionary, the appearance of meat in art is not a new phenomenon, as it dates back to early modern Dutch still lives. The attraction of meat as a medium derives from primal instinct, specifically, the relationship between consumption and copulation. The savagery associated with the deconstruction and consumption of raw meat feels equally as primitive and natural as fornication. Both are censored and simplified. Because meat is so attractive as a medium, it is used by infinitely different individuals to convey even opposite intentions. Artists’ and activists’ use meat as medium, and their work can have identical imagery, but the intentions can be completely opposite. Despite the identical imagery, the works are not necessarily misinterpreted by the audience. Appropriation, whether intentional or not, affects the intention of a work, and how audiences can distinguish between the different intentions of pieces with identical imagery. The line between appropriation and inspiration is difficult to define, particularly when it comes to identical imagery between two artworks by different artists. However, some artist’s find inspiration in the ritualistic use of meat that is evident in legends. Meat is frequently used for sacrifice, and can be easily and legally obtained with a feeling similar to the human body without being a human body. Something that once was alive has a feeling of power, which is important to ritual. As an artist who uses meat, I had an initial struggle attempting to explain my attraction to the material, so I wanted to research and explore other artists who used meat as a means to understand my own work better. In the beginning it was difficult for me to find my medium. Working with meat proved difficult particularly due to its fleeting nature. As a result, if I were to make something that lasted, I would need to photograph it. Working with meat, I wanted to blur the line between meat and the body, specifically my own body. Most of ...