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The Bestiary Series
(1999-present)
This work explores our ambivalent relationship
with other animals and with that which is elemental within us. Some of
the images are simply straightforward “portraits” of animals
that evoke various human responses – repulsion, indifference, scorn,
curiosity, enchantment, superiority, annoyance, etc. Like the medieval
Bestiary books of fantastic creatures, these real-life animals also have
symbolic associations for us which may prevent our truly knowing them.
These animals are essentially strangers to us – despite the vast
array of objective information to which we have access in our technologically-driven
culture.
Other images in this body of work are
chimeras — combining human and animal features —- and portrayals
of human-animal interaction which reference myth and folklore. Art and
literature throughout civilization reveal our many-faceted relationship
to other living beings. As adults in contemporary western society, we
live more in the mind than in the body, but not always comfortably.
These images address the human need to suppress, as well as to celebrate,
the wild and instinctual within ourselves – and to question the
often brutal terms of our existence with each other.
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