Tasmanian museum owner Karin Koch is breaking taboos and inspiring creativity with the world’s first animal poo painting competition. The event, held at her Pooseum—a museum dedicated to the science of dung—aims to destigmatize faeces while offering a unique artistic challenge. Launched in 2024, the Poo-tastic Tasmanian Paint Off invites artists to create works using animal droppings, with a $2,000 prize for the winner.
Following a successful inaugural year, the competition returns with a new theme: “expressive portraits” crafted from animal poo. A commissioned portrait of former politician and environmentalist Bob Brown, painted using pademelon droppings, serves as an inspiration for participants.
The Inspiration Behind the Pooseum
Karin Koch’s journey into the world of faeces art began with a personal tragedy. The death of a close friend from bowel cancer, who kept symptoms secret due to societal taboos, motivated her to open the Pooseum. “In his generation, talking about such things was taboo, and that silence, unfortunately, cost him his life,” Koch explained.
Originally planning a museum focused on human faeces, Koch shifted her focus to animal dung after moving to Tasmania. “For thousands of years, animal faeces have been used in various ways, particularly in rural regions across Asia and Africa,” she noted. “I realized that no one had ever dedicated a museum to animal faeces, despite the fascinating science and ecological importance behind it. So I decided to be the first.”
Art from Unlikely Materials
The Pooseum features artworks and sculptures made from animal dung sourced from around the world, including pieces from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. A standout piece is a “highly detailed” artwork in cow dung and gold leaf by German artist Werner Härtl, who began creating art from diluted dung while working as a farm laborer in 2012. Härtl describes dung as an “extremely versatile” medium.
Pademelon Poo Painting Takes Top Prize
Artist Karen Lyttle, who had never worked with animal poo before, won the inaugural competition with her piece “Crap Wallpaper,” depicting pademelons and their intestinal tracts. “The whole pattern is based on eating and defecating,” Lyttle explained. She experimented with various mixtures, ultimately finding that working with pademelon poo felt “totally natural.”
“We try to pretend that poo doesn’t exist, but it’s part of everything,” Lyttle said. “The nutrients [from poo] go back into the ground … to help Australian farmlands … it’s the whole cycle of life.”
Looking Ahead: The 2025 Competition
This year’s competition introduces stricter rules and a focus on portraiture, open only to Tasmanian-based artists. Koch’s expectations are “much higher” following the success of the first year. The theme was chosen due to Koch’s personal love of painting portraits.
To set the stage, Koch commissioned a portrait of Bob Brown from Tasmanian artist Ewen Welsh. Welsh approached Brown through his partner, Paul Thomas, and received enthusiastic approval. “Bob likes the portrait,” Welsh confirmed, noting that Brown requested the portrait be unveiled after the latest federal election.
Koch is eager to see the submissions for this year’s competition. “I’ve always enjoyed doing things that haven’t been done before,” she said. “Though primarily a science museum, the Pooseum balances education with humour, proving that even something as gross and messy as faeces can be a fascinating subject for learning.”
As the Pooseum continues to challenge perceptions and inspire creativity, it stands as a testament to the power of art in addressing societal taboos and encouraging open dialogue about important health topics.
