Quimera
by
UNPLUCKED &
Caitlin Parks
A dive through our underwater grasslands, one of our planet’s most incredible ecosystems.
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Chimera
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Who has not dreamt at some point of making unusual discoveries while travelling? Lost treasures, forgotten landscapes, animals never seen by humankind before…
Our imagination has been a constant companion for us as travellers, fuelling that very human sense of anticipation, wonder and awe.
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​These unknown creatures…what could they be? Half mountain goat/half leopard, half fish/half peacock, these magical creatures, these Chimeras. A universe of possibilities, able to adapt to other lands, seas, and skies.​
Sea Pig. Conradi Gesneri. Historiæ Animalium Liber IIII. 1558.
Abraham Ortelius map of Island. The map first appeared in the 1587 French edition of Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern Atlas of the World, first issued in 1570 and expanded thereafter until 1612.
Source: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Although originally imagined as a fire-breathing, three-headed monster (a lion with an additional goat’s head, and a tail crowned with the head of a serpent), the term CHIMERA has subsequently been associated with creatures combining features from different animals, less dangerous and intimidating, more fantastic and magical.
We humans have shown a clear attraction for them, having been present as a concept in many cultures throughout the ages, from Greek mythology (featuring in Homer’s Iliad) to Egypt, India, and Turkey (where the myth seems to have originated, in an area called YanartaÅŸ where methane and other gases emerge from the rock and burn).
Chimera on a red-figure Apulian plate, c. 350–340 BCE. Louvre, Paris
Source: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Sebastian Münster “Meerwunder und Seltzame Thier / Wie Die In Den Nitnaecßtigen Laendern im Meer und auf dem Landt gefanden werden”, part of his Cosmographia universalis, first published in 1544 and released in at least 35 editions by 1628. It was the first German-language description of the world. Munster's plate of mythical creatures is taken from Olaus Magnus' Carta Marina of 1539. Ortelius also adapted many of the monsters for use on his map of Iceland in 1587 (see below).
Source: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
About the Artwork
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Chimera is a collaboration between Caitlin Parks and Unplucked Ltd. Caitlin carved four animal lino cut prints which were then scanned, edited and turned into the Chimera combination designs.A distinctive colour code was assigned to reflect the dominant environment associated with each ‘half’ of the Chimera- water, air or land.
The designs have been created to go on a range of homeware products.
UNPLUCKED MOSAICS
We like to consider Unplucked a collection of stories, boxes that once open transport you closer to one of those natural wonders we share our lives with. In the spirit of those cabinets of curiosities treasured by so many in the past.
All these stories are unique in themselves, and at the same time share a common place and a connecting thread.
To reflect that, UNPLUCKED brings you our own MOSAICS. Like looking through the lens of an observation instrument, before focusing on a particular corner of our world. Encapsulating both our curiosity to discover and our eagerness to collect.
Generated from each one of our collections, but all sharing a deep connection, MOSAICS distill some of the essence of UNPLUCKED.
