Fake Cannibalism / Real Cannibalism

I haven't posted for a while, but I figured I'd come back with a bang. Right now I'm going through a bout of writers block, as well as photographer's block. The funny thing about life though, is every so often something lurks about and finds it's way to inspire you. Just like when I went to the Golden Gate Bridge and was reminded of the chilling documentary, The Bridge, in seeing this BuzzFeed post on gorilla marketing for Resident Evil 6, I was reminded of a VICE documentary about Issei Sagawa.

In case you don't know about the food sculptor Sharon Baker and her installation in the Smithfield meat market East London, or Issei Sagawa, here is a visual.

The "Human Flesh Meat Market" looks quite upsetting. I think the flesh is made of Prosciutto. Not sure what the fingers and other "offal" are comprised of.
I had a familiar feeling when seeing images of this installation. I am very sensitive to bodily integrity (not to be confused with BIID in which case I would want to cut my arm off), so seeing dismemberment creates feelings of dread and way too many introspective thoughts; like how much less of myself would I be without these limbs? It was similar to when I first saw the black and white images of Issei Sagawa's victim.

Issei Sagawa is a Japanese man, who in 1981, killed and ate part of a young Dutch woman in Paris. Sagawa was detained in a mental institution, declared insane, and shipped back to Japan after the French public expressed outrage of Sagawa's detainment at their expense. Then he appeared to slip through the cracks of the justice system.

 VICE made a short documentary called VICE Meets Issei Sagawa, in which we see Sagawa free as a bird living in Japan, though seemingly trapped in a personal hell. Sagawa explains how cannibalism began as a form of sexual desire as a young boy that escalated into adulthood. While Sagawa claims to attempt remorse to no avail, he simultaneously expresses extreme guilt for being alive, surmising he must be some kind of alien; an abomination.

After Sagawa came back from Paris, his only means of income involved capitalizing on his bizarre crime. Sagawa goes as far as to say "Japanese people nowadays are really stupid" speaking about how he has been asked to write books, make art, and pornography, all exploiting the horrific nature of the incident.  Even he understands the depravity of this. What is most disturbing are the videos film makers made of him, making a freak show of his mental issue, making his cannibalism a sick joke, rewarding his irregularity, and concurrently disregarding the gravity of life lost at his hands.

In Vice Meets... you get a glimpse at a pornographic video in which a Japanese adult film actress interacts with Sagawa (he does not eat or harm her), ending with a tearful interview as she reflects on learning of his crime and obsessions. You will be happy to know that even after such an experience this woman has continued to be a "good friend" to Sagawa. I cannot understand her courage, or her motives.

Below is part 1 of VICE Meets Issei Sagawa. This video is NSFW. It is extremely graphic on many levels.