In October 2011, the Flemish artist Wim DELVOYE (born. 1965) scored a personal auction record £190,000 for construction equipment in metallic lace (almost $300,000), for his Flatbed Trailer Scale Model and Caterpillar 5C Scale Model at Sotheby's in London. With a total of 5 results above the $100,000 line in 2011, the provocative artist’s prices are rising rapidly and the ascension has been given additional fuel by the prestige of his current exhibitions including his latest at the Louvre! For this exhibition he has designed a 13-metre tall column in steel twisted for the museum’s pavilion entitled Suppo that will occupy the key space until 3 December 2012.

The Louvre will also host some fifteen works in stained glass, porcelain and bronze that will interact cheekily with the museum’s existing art collections (31 May - 17 September 2012).

His gallery of works announces a jubilatory cabinet of curiosities, with perhaps a few tattooed pig skins. It is these living tattooed piggy banks that most contributed to the artist’s notoriety. In the late 90s, a stuffed tattooed pig fetched less than $12,000 (£6,500) at Christie's in London on 22 April 1998). Today you would expect to pay between $50,000 and $150,000 on average, depending on quality of design, to acquire a work of 100% pure pork.