Chimera
17 inches x 8 ¾ inches
Watercolor and graphite on paper
Signature date: 8.19.05
| Several dozen weevils and three Chiasognathus granti beetles, from the collection of The American Museum of Natural History, are intertwined amongst Empress Tree branches, in a structure conjuring Chinese calligraphic characters, to create a new organism composed of genetically distinct tissues. The pictorial network bears mythical beings simultaneously illustrating different stages of life while being perpetually reborn, half devoured, into their own consumption. |
all text and images © Berwald Oriental Art and Julie Rauer
