Victoria Skinner (Florida/USA)

Chimera 1. A mixture of two or more genetically different species in one body 2. A fanciful or foolish fabrication. The original Chimera was a mythological beast part goat, lion, and serpent.  But there is a difference between a symbolic being of the imagination, and the real thing.  Today, scientists are creating real chimeras, part human, part animal.  The first successful human/animal chimeras developed for several days in a petri dish before they were destroyed.  Now, these experiments take place inside living creatures.  The questions (ethical, religious, medical, philosophical) are many; what rights, if any, should chimeras have?  At what point do they become human?  The petri dishes, part of an ongoing series titled “Chimera”, are shown in groupings, individually, and sometimes combined with sculpture.  "Anomaly" is a larger version.  I enjoy blurring boundaries -- between human and animal, science and art, imagination and knowledge. 
 
 
WEBSITE: http://www.vskinner.com



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