Final Project Essay

The Hybridization of Mer-people and my Hybrid Creature Result.

For the project, I was set a task to merge myself with a randomly chosen creature, then give an in-depth look into the concept behind it: Hybridization. Hippocampus Kuda was my randomly chosen creature, also known as the common Seahorse found in tropical waters. This, at first thought, was a daunting task, as I had to think up a concept to combine myself with it. How would I make it look grotesque and mutated as suggested by the tutor on the subject of the brief? Hippocampus, the ancient Greek word for Seahorse from the words Horse and Monster, are of the fish genus, within the family Syngnathidae that also include pipefish. Obviously, my overall design would have to make the hybrid look as though it came from the ocean, so aquatic features were a given such as gills, maybe a pair of webbed hands, a streamlined body, etc.

Fig. 1 With over 50 species, seahorses are mostly found within the tropical, shallow waters throughout the words and usually live in areas among sea grass, coral reefs or mangroves, so I would need to feature the creature in an area underwater that is rife with these types of aquatic plant life in order to keep the seahorse aspect of the hybrid alive. They also come in a variety of colors, something that would easily be able to be incorporated. After browsing many images of them over Google images, I fund that they

mostly seem to vary from shades of fiery orange, from bright gold and cream to an earthy brown with mottled patches. Since I want the viewers eye to be drawn to the hybrid itself, I figured that Id go with a more unusual color, since this is no ordinary seahorseits combined with a human, so perhaps some of the DNA for the scale color became distorted, giving the creature a unique skin color. Their most distinct feature, to me, are their long, coiled tails which they use to latch onto corals and other seabed formations and plants in order to prevent themselves from being swept away by oncoming currents. This piece of anatomy became the center focus of some of my thumbnail sketches. I tried attaching it to the head like a type of ponytail, merging it with the arm as a sort of biological whip-like weapon and also attached it to both shoulder blades as spines. These didnt work, unfortunately, so the ideas were scrapped.

Fig. 2 After merging it with myself, I couldnt resist but give it my glasses, then the inspiration hit me to turn my hybrid into some sort of mer-person with the traditional upper body of a humanoid and the power body of a fish. The glasses I turned into pearls, since that would most likely be one of the materials readily available underwater that could substitute for glass. I eventually decided to turn his role into a scholar-type mer, since he looked like hed be nose-deep in books most of the time.

Fig 3 This brings us to our investigation of hybrids, mer-people and how they have influenced popular culture. In terms of art, fables and stories throughout history, hybridization has been rife in ages passed. The most common emphasis on the combination of two living beings has been one thing spliced with a human. This is, of course, the main purpose of this project. Let us start way back in around 3150 BC in ancient Egypt where civilization believed in a plethora of powerful Gods and Goddesses who controlled separate aspects of existence: birth, death, love, the sun, the night sky and even cats, which ancient Egyptians revered almost as Gods. There were a few particular Gods who where combined with animals, the most well known being Anubis, the jackal-headed God. Contrary to popular belief and portrayal in some modern media, he wasnt actually the God of death itself--that was Osiris job. Anubis was the God of embalming: the preparation of the dead for the passage through to the afterlife. There was also Horus, the hawk-headed God who oversaw the Pharaoh, being his guardian throughout life, Bastet, the cat-headed Goddess of cats and Thoth, the ibis-headed God.

Fig. 4 Fast forwarding to the 8th century BC in Ancient Greece, we see hybridization in the animal/human sense at its most well-known with the mythical stories of Perseus and Medusa, Theseus and the Minotaur and the myths of fantastical creatures such as Satyrs, Centaurs, Harpies. However, these stories and creatures were not just about the creatures and heroes who conquered them. They had messages and morals to them, too. For example, spawn of a Cretan bull and Pasiphae, the Minotaur was representative of humanitys battle with their raging, animalistic side that sought power.

Fig. 5 The Minotaur was a raging monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man. It represented uncontrollable lusts and powerful egoistic expressions in humankind. The Minotaur was the offspring of Poseidons Bull and King Minos wife. So King Minos built a huge and complicated underground labyrinth-prison for the deadly Minotaur to dwell in. This maze of chambers was so complex that it was impossible to escape without help. To satisfy the monsters ravenous appetite, King Minos would release seven girls and seven boys into the maze for the monster to devour. -Daniel, 2005 Harpies were a metaphor for the spitefulness and cruelness as these half woman, half bird monsters would frequently mug and steal from travelers in order to watch them suffer. Birds are often seen as graceful creatures often associated with femininity. However, when twisted in such a manner to make them look ugly, one of the results can be Harpies.

Fig. 6 Satyrs, a combination of goats and men, are the companions of Pan, deity of nature and are the embodiment of fertility. They are often portrayed drinking wine.

Fig. 7 The centaur, another creature of the forest, is a combination of a an and a horse with the lower half of a horse and the upper torso of a man. They are often seen as mischievous, but reclusive troublemakers.

Fig. 8 There are many other creatures throughout history that also display characteristics of animals and humans and in some cases derive from things other than animals.

Fig. 9 Werewolves, a popular and well-known creature in modern horror and supernatural culture, are the physical embodiment of humanitys struggle with their feral instincts, much like the Minotaur. A combination of wolf and man, they turn into this hybridization during a full moon. The myth seems to be as old as ancient Greek culture. What appears to be the oldest story of a werewolf is not a gruesome group of serial killings followed by an execution, but an Ancient Roman myth. Ovid wrote the Metamorphoses in 1 A.D. In it, he told the tale of King Lycaon (the origin of the word Lycanthrope) who offended the gods by serving human meat to them at dinner. Jupiter punished this transgression by transforming Lycaon into a werewolf. In his werewolf form, he could continue his abomination of eating human flesh with less offense. -Barclay

Fig. 10 Dryads are spirits of the forest, which combine the alluring form of a woman usually with plant life or a tree.

Fig. 11 Ents from J.R.R Tolkiens Lord of the Rings books are almost fully transformed in appearance; a towering tree with a humanoid form that are shepherds of the forest. Mermaids are another famous example of hybrid creatures that have stood the test of time through history. It is unknown when the first few myths of mer-people came to be, but what we do know is that underwater creatures have been imagined and been told about throughout history. Usually associated with the mysteries of the oceans depths and the

unknown creatures that could dwell in it, humanity has created fantastical stories of vicious sea monsters and creatures such as the Kraken of Norse mythology, the Loch Ness Monster from Scottish legend and, among many, many others, mermaids and merfolk. Merfolk and mer-creatures have been told about through centuries, ever since humans created boats and set sail on the worlds oceans. The myth most likely started when sailors mistook dugongs, close relatives of manatees, resting on rocky outcrops as mermaids from a distance. They're blubbery, whiskery, rotund and about as far removed from the lissome, nubile image of mermaids as you could get. But that's exactly what dugongs were once mistaken for, according to folklore. Dugongs, marine mammals from the order sirenia, are said to have once lured femalestarved sailors, giving rise to the mermaid myth. -Sydny Morning Herald, 2009 Hoaxes have also been various hoaxes in which a person has spliced together the bodies of both a fish and a young primate. One of the most famous of these is the Mermaid of Chennai, which used paper mache in order to create a mummified, preserved appearance to the hybridized body.

Fig. 12 The fact that people still seem to be hoaxing the myth in an attempt to make it seem like fact seems to suggest that people actually want- to believe. I dont blame themthe concept of aquatic humans is a fascinating one. This brings us on to the legendary city of Atlantis whos story came from Ancient Greece around 360 BC. The city was mentioned in Platos dialogues.

Fig. 13 For it is related in our records how once upon a time your State stayed the course of a mighty host, which, starting from a distant point in the Atlantic ocean, was insolently advancing to attack the whole of Europe, and Asia to boot. For the ocean there was at that time navigable; for in front of the mouth which you Greeks call, as you say, 'the pillars of Heracles,' there lay an island which was larger than Libya and Asia together; and it was possible for the travelers of that time to cross from it to the other islands, and from the islands to the whole of the continent over against them which encompasses that veritable ocean. For all that we have here, lying within the mouth of which we speak, is evidently a haven having a narrow entrance; but that yonder is a real ocean, and the land surrounding it may most rightly be called, in the fullest and truest sense, a continent. Now in this island of Atlantis there existed a confederation of kings, of great and marvelous power, which held sway over all the island, and over many other islands also and parts of the continent. -Plato, 360BC The islands people grew arrogant and proud of their civilization, enough so that the Gods grew jealous and caused a great cataclysm to sweep over the island, sending a tidal wave to swallow it up and sink it. Ever since mentioned, the city has inspired imagination and incited excitement, spawning many believers in the citys existence. Portrayed in many modern medias as the home to mer-people, the legend still exists today. Films and TV shows such as Disneys Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Stargate: Atlantis, and even the cartoon series Futurama by Matt Groening have taken this legend and given their own twists on it.

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Fig. 16 One significant discovery was that of a photo taken from space of an enormous grid-like formation off the coast of France in the Atlantic Ocean. However, it was revealed by Google Earth that the formations were nothing more than just remnants of data collection on the picture.

Fig. 17 "It's true that many amazing discoveries have been made in Google Earth including a pristine forest in Mozambique that is home to previously unknown species and the remains of an Ancient Roman villa. In this case, however, what users are seeing is an artifact of the data collection process. Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor. The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data. The fact there are blank spots between each of these lines is a sign of how little we really know about the world's oceans." -Google statement Mer-people have gone through many iterations and appearances, all of which came from the original concept of an aquatic humanoid. Abe Sapien from the Hellboy Franchise, though far from the traditional mer-person appearance of a fish tail in place of legs and the upper torso of a human, he takes on more logical anatomy. He has large eyes to see into the blackness of the waters depths, blue skin to blend in with his surroundings, gills on his neck to breathe ad even takes inspiration from the skin patterns of marine creatures. However, it appears that his is also amphibious, being able to breathe both in and out of water. Both the comic version and the film version both have different designs, however.

Fig. 18

Fig. 19

Both versions are blue-green amphibious humanoids. But the film version is more amphibious in look. This film version gives Abe a more alien look, making Mignolas design a very human sight. So which one is the better one? The film version, being more alien to sight, contributes a lot to the films atmosphere and themes of the weird and occult. In this sense, the highly amphibious design adds to the films visual spectacle. -Hilary, 2010

Fig. 20 He mermaids from Harry Potter and he Goblet of Fire keep the traditionalism of human-ontop, fish-on-bottom, but again their human part has been altered to a more aqua-friendly

appearance. Their faces are elongated and their lips enhanced in size to resemble more of a fish than a human. Their most distinct feature is their hair, which looks a lot like a sea anemone, probably to help them blend into their surroundings like Abe-Sapiens blue skin.

Fig. 21 The Primeval series explores this too with the introduction of Mer-creatures which seem to be a combination of a seal and a primate. Supposedly descendants of humanity in the distant future, mer-creatures behave a lot like elephant seals and seem to be very intelligent.

Fig. 22 Disneys most and only famous movie featuring mer-people is The Little Mermaid, which sticks to the traditional take on them. Ariel, the young daughter of Ting Triton, is distinctly human with the tail of a fish in place of legs, though the merging point at her waist is more

like some sort of sock or costume as the only defining point of hybridization is a belt of fins which abruptly halts the fish portion of her body. In conclusion to this essay, hybridization has essentially made its way into our everyday lives. Though we may not know it, every media type has at least had the experience of this subject matter. We incorporate myth and legend into artwork, video games, literature, comics, theatre, films and many, many other forms of media. More often than not we deal with the idea of metamorphosis and the hybridization regularly, whether it be metophorical or physical. The human psyche is a complicated thing, imagining up fantastical beasts to represent aspects of ourselves or aspects of the world. All in all it has almost become a tradition.

Bibliography http://historicmysteries.com/werewolf-legen http://researchersoftruth.net/1.5.05-Myth_as_Metaphor.html http://www.smh.com.au/news/specials/environment/dugongs-unlikely-sirens-of-thesea/2009/04/03/1238261778806.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7903169.stm http://singaporecomix.blogspot.com/2010/03/comics-vs-film-abe-sapien.html

Illustrations Fig 1http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/medialive/photos/000/007/cache/seahorse_704_600x450.jpg Fig 2http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l6x5d4FCuO1qd7bz6o1_500.jpg Fig 3http://tfarrington.blogspot.com/ Fig 4http://www.gamedecor.com/abasworld/images/Egyptian%20Pantheon.jpg Fig 5http://gallery.e2bn.org/assets/0804/0000/0157/theseus_and_the_minotaur_detail.jpg Fig 6http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Harpy.PNG/200pxHarpy.PNG Fig 7http://www.k-excellence.com/tplg/1929-3w.JPG Fig 8http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Centaur_nymph_Marqueste_Tuileries. jpg

Fig 9http://www.werewolves.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/werewolfml.jpg Fig 10http://images.elfwood.com/art/r/i/rickard/dryad01.jpg Fig 11http://www.ciezak-angielski.yoyo.pl/elementy/ent.jpg Fig 12http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/news/images/mermaidhoax.jpg Fig 13http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00737/SNN2005JJatlantisNE_737370a.jpg Fig 14http://lemoncoin.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/atlantis_lost_empire.png Fig 15http://images.wikia.com/en.futurama/images/6/6b/Atlanta.jpg Fig 16http://images.wikia.com/stargate/images/7/70/Atl-title.jpg Fig 17http://3.bp.blogspot.com/nBNuI4mQkNk/TVhQsxuJL5I/AAAAAAAAEME/dXfbLvoRigU/s1600/google-earth.jpg Fig 18http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/AbeSapien.jpg Fig 19http://images.wikia.com/hellboy/images/3/38/Doug_abe.jp Fig 20http://www.alicia-logic.com/capsimages01/hp4gf_112Mermaid.jpg Fig 21http://images.wikia.com/primeval/images/a/ac/Mer_big_red_and_co.jpg Fig 22http://www.tripletsandus.com/disney/Little-Mermaid/Ariel/ariel-fish-friends.jpg