Instead of focusing on the processing, cleaning, packaging, transporting, and God knows how many other steps that go into the production of milk, I decided to investigate its source: the dairy cow. Who are they? My now narrowed interest brought me to learn about these living things that exist within a massive system of machines.

Here, I did not want to focus on the cruelty these animals are subjected to. I did not have the courage to look further from this perspective of emotional involvement. The treatment of cows and other livestock animals has also been widely documented in films and literature and I did not want to simply reiterate their narrative to capture an emotional response.

I looked into how humans have transformed the cow instead, or rather, the technological milk producing product known as a cow.

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Through my work, I want to portray the oppressiveness of this bio-mechanical system. I want to recreate the feeling of being trapped, restricted, and modified. I want to recreate the ensuing chaos and I want to recreate what is left after layers of elimination and blocking.

How do these cows produce milk for these machines?

“Perfected” by capitalism’s need for efficiency and quality, dairy cows work perfectly with the machines that torture them.

...I wondered if the cows themselves were a part of this machine or not.