Fantastic Fauna-Chimeric Creatures

This exhibit features factitious historical and scientific parodies by Beauvais Lyons, director of the Hokes Archives and art professor at the University of Tennessee. Part archaeologist, part scientist, part satirist, part artistic visionary, Lyons, on behalf of the Association for Creative Zoology, presents evidence that exotica throughout the animal world is merely a representation of the creative presence in all things. Creatures that have never been seen before are examples of the zoomorphic juncture or the combination of previously built species into new works of creation from the building blocks of existing organisms. They are presented as meticulously rendered lithographs and taxidermy specimens, and stand as a representation of the Hokes Archives’ collection of imaginary archaeology, zoology and medicine.