Chimera

The Chimera was a fire-breathing hybrid creature most often described as having the body of a lion with a goat’s head protruding from its back and a tail ending in the head of a snake. In this version, I have referred to a feline with fewer symbolic associations — the caracal, a smaller African wild cat. Unlike lions, which in South Africa only live in nature reserves, caracals have adapted to human disturbance. They are commonly found in farmland, and even on the fringes of cities such as Cape Town. This proximity to humans often leads to persecution, particularly due to their tendency to prey on livestock

The Chimera’s fantastical physique eludes classification. Incorporating both predator and prey, mammal and reptile, it is a monster of multiplicity. I see the Chimera as an embodied critique of the kind of taxonomy that propped up the racist, patriarchal, anthropocentric hierarchy of modern thought.