Reflections of Chimerism in Contemporary Art

Primitive people tried to find a meaning for natural events through causal relations with their limited knowledge. One example is mythological monsters, which are actually the different aspects of nature in forms. All these monsters are products of the Mother Goddess as a woman, and they are visualized versions of uncanny and dangerous side of nature. One of these monsters, with a lion ahead, a goat body, and a snake tail in Greek Mythology, is called Chimera. Later, these multi-identity monster, whose parts also mean something on their own, became a symbol and a source of reference for different fields such as biology, psychology and art. Chimerism, i.e. the coexistence of different identities in one body, has gained a scientific basis, especially in biology through the advancement of gene technology. Finding different gene codes in the same body has proven that there are real chimeras, including humans, in nature. The fact that human, animal and plant genes can exist in one body has led to many ethical debates. Art opens a discussion space for the redefinition of such ethical boundaries today. In this study, the counterparts of creatures called Chimera in the history of contemporary art will be discussed