Lepus

The Bestiary, or ‘Book of Beasts’, was among the most popular illustrated texts of the European Middle Ages. These richly illustrated manuscripts offered a vision of wonder, variety and hidden meanings found in nature. The bestiary provided the basis for the study of natural history and its legacy still impacts visual arts today. This work, from a series titled ‘Bestiary Mechanica’ draws on this rich medieval tradition and blends it with elements of the modern world of A.I. and cybernetics. The beasts are creations of mechanical, organic and biomechanical body parts offering a contemporary take on the established form. 'Lepus' or the rabbit, holds a unique place in the Australian landscape, a plague of our own making.