featured Connect Photography animalsPhoto shop Curators’ Corner
Dorca
If a deranged geneticist successfully spliced the DNA of a Killer Whale and a Labrador, there is probably a good chance the new species would resemble one of Sarah DeRemer’s creatures from her photo manipulation project, Animal Hybrids.
The 25-year-old California native, now based in Seoul, South Korea, decided to create hybrid animal photographs as a way to improve her Photoshop skills. Sometimes hilarious and cuddly, other times flat out terrifying, DeRemer’s bizarre fusions have captivated animal lovers and Internet forums around the world.
Among the artist’s most memorable mash-ups are the Birboon (Bird vs. Baboon), Shider (Shark vs. Spider), Meeraffe (Giraffe vs. Meerkat), Beavussy (Beaver vs. Cat) and the Pandowl (Panda vs. Owl).
“I find it fun to mix animals, especially when it creates a startling juxtaposition such as a ferocious animal on a cute and tiny one,” DeRemer wrote on Bored Panda. “I started creating them for the Hybrid Animals sub-reddit, and now make them for fun and by request for people.”
As if Animal Hybrids wasn’t weird enough, DeRemer decided to delve even deeper into the ludicrous with a related side project, Animal Food.
Although a Bananake (Snake vs. Banana), Penguimelon (Penguin vs. Watermelon), Frovacado (Frog vs. Avocado) and Hippotato (Hippo vs. Potato) do not sound appetizing, DeRemer’s unbelievable Photoshop skills and visual imagination are worth the cringe in your stomach.
Asked what made her combine produce and animals, DeRemer told Citizen Brooklyn the idea was simply an extension of Animal Hybrids.
“One of the initial ways I started learning photo-manipulation was through practicing with animal hybridizing. From there, I noticed the potential for a series stemming from an interesting juxtaposition between live animals and produce, rather than just different animal species. I found the combination of forms interesting and realized that it made a visually strong image that people would have strong opinions about. A lot of the project was a study in color and negative space, as well as creating a cohesive image through hybridizing, but I also just enjoyed creating something both amusing and potentially thought provoking.”
DeRemer’s work has been featured in the New York Post, Daily Mail and the Telegraph UK. To view the complete collection of Animal and Produce Hybrids, or to purchase a print, visit DeRemer’s Facebook page.
