Weighing art in the (fish) scales?

I’m somewhat bemused by a French artist who creates pictures featuring bizarrely clad fish heads.

This artist must have the smelliest studio in the world, judging by her pungent art materials.

But Anne-Catherine Becker-Ech­ivard has certainly turned heads with her unique scaled-down depictions of everyday life.

Inspired by the silent movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, the Frenchwoman uses fish heads on models to address topics ranging from Aids to repression.

‘Fish are a great method of communicating my opinions on this world,’ says the 37-year-old, who lives in Berlin.

Since she fell in love with the humble mackerel and sardine 11 years ago, Ms Becker-Echivard has gone on to create a school of art that has left critics open-mouthed.

For each work, she starts fishing around for a topical idea, often gleaned from the radio or a newspaper. She then takes a blank sheet of paper and starts to fillet with ideas before visiting the vast Rungis food market in Paris.

Ms. Becker-Echivard’s mother then joins in to make the costumes during a creative process that can last up to three months.

‘It is meticulous work which takes time,’ she explains. But, despite the serious topics, she does not take herself too seriously.

‘Using fish can be a very obviously silly way of expressing a variety of emotions,’ she admits.

But, rather ominously, she adds: ‘There is a little of me in each of my projects.’

Um . . . er . . . OK. I’ll take your word for it!

Some examples of her art follow. Fish in a factory:

Fish surgeon at work:

Fish with a bone to pick:

Fish with a beer:

Fish in a Chinese toy factory:

Interesting . . . but rather perishable art, one would think? I’m sure that after a few days on display, they get a bit whiffy, to put it mildly!

(On the other hand, I shouldn’t carp about such things, should I?)

Peter