Digital artist Sarah DeRemer began this unusual project as a way to help her improve her Photoshop skills. In the end, the exercise in splicing two images took on a life of its own when DeRemer shared them on the Hybrid Animals sub-Reddit. Soon, people were asking her to create custom hybrids, and eventually, this series was born.
DeRemer humorously combines predators with their prey in this series (even if that prey is plant-based), creating a fantastical creature that embodies both ends of the food chain. While the results are at once funny, weird, and creative, they also serve as reminders that everything we eat once started out as another living thing, and that we really are what we eat.
Fox and Chicken
Frog and Fly
Tiger and Boar
Hummingbird and Flower/Nectar
Snake and Mouse
Snails and Strawberries
Hawk and Rabbit
Cat and Tuna
Bat and Moth
Human and Sandwich
(via BoredPanda)
DeRemer’s series is pretty simple on the surface, but it manages to subtly embody a variety of themes. It conjures the ideas of healthy eating habits, the impact of consumption on the surrounding environment and the body, and how no matter how hard we try, we can’t separate ourselves from the things we eat because they are literally part of us. It also points out that all creatures, big and small, carnivores and herbivores, must rely on the planet’s other creatures for survival.
You can see more of DeRemer’s work on her Facebook page, which also includes a series of birds with huge weird mouths that we know you’ll enjoy.