Dániel Szalai is a Hungarian visual artist and photographer. His work explores human-animal relationships and reflects on social, political and economic anomalies.
His project Novogen is focusing on the Novogen White, a special breed of chicken whose eggs are used for pharmaceutical purposes, including vaccine production.
The core of the work is formed by 168 individual portraits of these hens, each highlighting their unique characteristics and challenging the notion of animals as mere commodities. This extensive series is complemented by photographs documenting the journey of the eggs through the vaccin production
Through this comprehensive approach, Szalai raises critical questions about biotechnology and humanity’s manipulation of nature. By presenting the chickens both as individuals and as components of a larger industrial system, he prompts us to reflect on the ethical implications of such practices and the broader commodification of life in contemporary society.
We are excited to exhibit Novogen in a former chicken coop—a setting that resonates deeply with the themes of the work.
