Brian Andrew’s Blurs The Line Between Human and Animal

Using salvaged x-ray films and a somewhat disturbing design sense, Brian Andrews video “Hominid” has blurred the lines between human and animal anatomy. The resulting video is the result of a year of work with Ex’pression College of Digital Arts, mapping the movements of different animals to create a realistic blend between the two or more species being represented.

Andrew’s took great care to make sure that the animals portrayed were as anatomically correct as they could be. He hand painted the soft tissue back into the original images, and spent hours making sure that the movements of the animals were as precise as possible. He stated “We didn’t want it to just look like bird wings on a human torso”, referring to the flying creature in the video, and showed the students countless videos of birds flying as reference material. The result is a beautiful and slightly macabre blend of x-ray photography and animation that brings up some of the dilemmas that bioethicists deal with constantly in the wake of rapidly advancing technologies that allow for the possibility for human/animal hybrids.

So what do you think? Is it just a cool video or does it, as the artist intended, say something about the current ethical atmosphere in which biologists work?

via The Scientist