MONTREAL - EAR NIBBLING

Stephen J. Shanabrook is an artist originally from Ohio who was traipsing around the globe for years before he decided to set up shop in New York. He makes chocolates using molds he's made from the corpses of human bodies he somehow got his hands on in a Russian morgue, and we were so excited/grossed out about it that we called him up for a chat.

Vice: Hi Stephen. So let's just cut to the chase. When you were making your morgue chocolates, did you have to, like, touch the corpses? 

Stephen Shanabrook: Um, yeah. It weird after it was over but I mean, at the time it's like, when you're focused on doing something and you have a reason for it, you just do it. And it didn't really hit me until later.

But you were sticking your fingers in someone's mortal wounds.

I was as delicate as possible. I mean, I did what I needed to do. It wasn't really invasive. Even though it kind of looks like it from the chocolates. I actually just made an impression on the body, and then I took those home and from those impressions I made plaster positives…from the plasters I made special silicone.

How did you end up in Moscow pressing corpse chocolates anyway?

I was living in Holland at the time and a curator asked me to go to Russia with a group of Dutch artists. And I had just made an addition of chocolate teeth called I Eat People They Eat Me with teeth I collected from dentists in Holland. We were talking about Moscow and they said there was a huge chocolate factory in the center of Moscow, a very famous old factory. So I just got to thinking.

You must have a fascination with corpses or death.

No, I mean, I wouldn't say I do. My father was a doctor. And I worked in a chocolate factory when I was little. 

Has anybody ever eaten them? The chocolates?

Yeah, I mean, people do, let's see...mostly kids eat them at exhibitions because they're not scared of it. They just want the chocolate. 

Kids, man! Not scared of anything. What about commercially? Could you see the chocolates doing well?

There's a new contemporary art museum opening in--of all places--Tasmania, and they bought one of the chocolate suicide bombers for the museum but I also made them special molds for chocolates for the cafe.

What kinds?

From the Morgue Chocolates, but I made really small ones, just because basically they don't want to give out... you know when you get a cup of coffee?

Yeah, you get a little chocolate on the side.

Yeah, they put a little chocolate.

Is it gonna be the stitches and the eyeballs?

The ones that I used was the eyeballs because, at that size, it's the most recognizable.

What about the bullet wounds?

They're too massive for a little dainty chocolate.

Do you exclusively deal with mangled stiffs?

I'm working on a show for September. It's gonna use chocolate and plastic. I'm collecting pharmaceutical bottles, they call 'em stock bottles, and I'm gonna press those into molds and heat them. I'm using traditional chocolate bunny molds, but instead of putting chocolate in them I'm gonna be pressing these bottles in them...so you end up with a chocolate bunny made out of melted prescription bottles.

That's not so sociopathic. Phew. Now I don't feel as scared of you. 

ZOE DANIELS

Comments

[jnevs]

Thats some crazy shit man what a strange idea i want to know what the strangest chocolate he made was

[jasper]

i don't think they would be that bad if they were molded from living people but i couldn't stop thinking about eating a dead guy's ear or eye.

[Tara]

Unless that person had crazy ass double-joints, that's a broken finger. Ew...

[oooft]

have a nice eyeball along with your cup of coffee, nope it still isnt appealing although it can lead to terrible jokes about coffee being an eye opener.........sorry

[sweet]

kids will eat anything

[uly]

at least they aren't hollow. i hated it when i got chocolate easter bunnies they were hollow. way to disappoint a kid, aunt becky!

[nathan]

those eyes are going to haunt me the next time i eat chocolate.

[Random Asshole]

I like dark chocolate. Does she use molds from black people for those?

[dirzzle]

RANDOM ASSHOLE WINS!

[ori stinkeye]

nah

[vanessa]

This is amazing creative shit and I cant wait to see the prescription bunnies BUT I gotta admit I am probably the only female person alive that hates hates hates chocolate. To make it clear, even the idea of eating chocolate makes me puke!
Theres only one thing that is worse: sucking/nibbling someones ear or someone sucking my ear (supergross!!!!!) soooo if you ever want to punish me: feed me chocloate ears! Yum!

[small asian boy]

if he got into baby penis molds he could make a killing (hardy har har) with the jeffrey dahmer set.

[Halcyon]

that's creepy

[mg]

that photo is so van gogh

[jen emma]

no no no no no no no

[cocolate cannibal]

i can't believe everyone is so freaked by these - it's not like he put the chocolate directly on the corpses! i think dude seriously needs to go into the chocolate biz, for reals. these are amazing and i would buy them in a minute if i saw them in my local overpriced foodie mart.

[melvin]

this is not interesting. no. wait. it TOTALLY IS

[TonyFunfetti]

How about chocolate assholes?

[Hearing Aids ny]

I can't eat that, it's not attractive to eat.

Luke Hamilton

[Unique Chocolate Gifts]

Amazing!!good job.......a very unique chocolates

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