Orestes De La Paz, Miami Artist Sells Soap Made From His Own Liposuctioned Fat (PICTURES, VIDEO)

Buy A Bar Of Soap Made From This Man's Liposuctioned Fat For £650 (PICTURES, VIDEO)
|

It was the money-spinner that made us all wince in Fight Club.

And now one Miami-based artist is following suit – by selling bars of soap made from his own liposuctioned fat.

For $1,000 (£650) you can lather up in a bar of Orestes de la Paz’s own lard, bringing to mind Tyler Durden’s classic line: “We were selling rich women their own fat asses back to them!”

The project, which is currently on display at Miami’s Frost Museum, came into being after De La Paz had the cosmetic procedure in December and wanted to make use of the fat before it turned rancid.

De La Paz’s exhibition also features footage of the artist washing himself with his own fat, undergoing liposuction and boiling the fat into a soap.

Making Soap By Orestes De La Paz
(01 of03)
Open Image Modal
(credit:Facebook.com/KarenCarvajal)
(02 of03)
Open Image Modal
(credit:Facebook.com/KarenCarvajal)
(03 of03)
Open Image Modal
(credit:Facebook.com/KarenCarvajal)

And visitors to the display are even invited to wash their hands using the fruits of De La Paz’s labours – an apparently tempting offer for many.

De La Paz told HuffPost Miami: “The museum-goers were so at ease, that the idea of the soap being from human fat escaped their minds and they simply enjoyed the soap for it’s lavender, tea tree scent and the way it left the hands soft after washing.”

He told the Miami New Times: “There’s something about converting the notions about how we approach fat that can sometimes be seen as dirty or repulsive.

"Being able to convert it into something that is cleansing and also potentially healing reflects off the phrase ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness’.”

If you are in the market for one of De La Paz's 20 bars of soap, he tells us: "They are to be collected as art pieces, including a DVD of the video, a certificate of authenticity and a form stating that you'd allow the soap to be pulled from your private collection to be re-exhibited."

11 Shocking Acts by Artists
Piero Manzoni Poops In A Can(01 of04)
Open Image Modal
Italian artist Piero Manzoni created an unexpected work of art called "Artist's Shit" in 1961. How'd he do it? The brazen soul filled 90 cans with feces and sold them for auction at Sotheby's. Rumors circulated that Manzoni had not actually filled the cans with human feces, a rumor which was quickly quelled when one of the cans began leaking in a Denmark museum.
Voina and Tom Otterness Take their Art Out on Animals(02 of04)
Open Image Modal
Voina, the guerilla art group that graffitied a St. Petersburg bridge with a giant penis, once threw live cats at a McDonalds as part of a subversive performance that celebrated International Workers' Day. You can see a photo of the cats mid-air and likely terrified here. But the throwing of cats is not as bad as Tom Otterness' decision to shoot an adopted dog in 1977, an act he later regretted. Come on guys, let's the leave the animals out of it.Photo: Members of Voina courtesy of Getty Images.
Marni Kotak Gives Birth in a Gallery(03 of04)
Open Image Modal
Marni Kotak stated that giving birth was the "highest form of art." And she wanted to make that art public. So she decided to give birth in a gallery in a performance called "The Birth of Baby X." We just hope that she didn't get too caught up in the performance and forget to pick a better name for her offspring. (credit:AP)
Andres Serrano Taps into his Bodily Fluids(04 of04)
Open Image Modal
Andres Serrano is the king of using bodily fluids to create art. He's sacrificed his own blood, urine and semen to make works like his super-controversial photograph of a crucifix submerged in urine titled "Piss Christ." Talk about blood, sweat and tears going into your work. (credit:Wiki Commons)