The dissected pig 05049 depicted in PIG 05049 is after its death distributed across the world in well-measured parts. With surgical precision, the distribution and the use of the pig’s dissected parts are documented in a well-designed photo book with life-sized (1:1) photos of all products.

With her graduation project Checked Baggage (DAE 2006), Meindertsma had already shown that the act of collecting in its purest form could be communicative in itself. PIG 05049 is a continuation of this concept; it shows all parts of a slaughtered pig as well as the products these are used for, 185 in total. The design of the book is simply sublime: it feels like a technical reference book, the chapters indicated by a thumb index. The only frivolous element is the earmark on the spine. But, isn’t this the only part that doesn’t come from the pig itself but nevertheless stays with it for as long as it lives?