Project 2 Artist Statement: The LiarBeast

In the history of philosophy this simple question has been asked at least a few times: can animals lie? And the answer to this question has tended not to be a part of any genuine investigation, but rather to be a means to further separation between human and non-human animals. In reality, however, animals perform many feats of deception and lying, some of which even include a versions of stating lying or lie-filled communication and song. In this series of animations (and the surrounding environment to follow), I wanted to build an animal involving many of the persistent human symbols for lying and deception. For the beast itself, I combined features of a four-legged mammal/ruminant and a non-legged snake. In the processss of animating my liarbeast, I had it stand on its hind-legs to further indicate a form of deception. Its long tail, long front legs, and its tongue extend outwards and curl so that it comes to resemble almost a human animal, standing up and speaking or perhaps dancing to music or a dialogue to come. Since this isn't any animal or animal-hybrid we would see out in the world, I want the viewer to be both skeptical and enchanted by the possibility of an animal who might speak to them directly and do very imitative, human-like things, such as dancing, speaking, or singing.