Yes Men :: Vivoleum

NPC representative (Yes Man Mike Bonnano) explains to 300 oil industry executives that the “Vivoleum” candle was made from the flesh of an Exxon janitor. Photo Courtesy of Yes Men.

On June 14, 2007, the Yes Men showed up at Canada's largest oil conference in Calgary, Alberta, posing as ExxonMobil and National Petroleum Council representatives.

The “NPC rep” announced that current U.S. and Canadian energy policies are increasing the chances of huge global calamities. But he reassured the audience that in the worst case scenario, the oil industry could “keep fuel flowing” by transforming the billions of people who would die into oil.

The project, called Vivoleum, would work in perfect synergy with the continued expansion of fossil fuel production. The oilmen listened to the lecture with attention, and then lit “commemorative candles” supposedly made of Vivoleum obtained from the flesh of an “Exxon janitor” who died as a result of cleaning a toxic spill. The audience only reacted when the janitor, in a video tribute, announced that he wished to be transformed into candles after his death.

YES! Magazine encourages you to make free use of this article by taking these easy steps. admin. (2007, July 29). Yes Men :: Vivoleum. Retrieved February 12, 2012, from YES! Magazine Web site: http://www.yesmagazine.org/multimedia/yes-video/yes-men-vivoleum. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License