Allegory of the Monoceros

Andy Diaz Hope and Laurel Roth

"Allegory of the Monoceros" is a woven Jacquard tapestry dedicated to the turning point of evolutionary forces from Darwinian Natural Selection to human centric evolution. The tapestry is inspired by the 15th century Unicorn Tapestries and weaves a tale of medicine, discovery and evolution through the ages beginning with early medicinal botanicals and ending in the gene age. Utilizing traditional textile design and botanical illustration and woven on a computer controlled jacquard loom in Belgium, the technology used to create the tapestry spans the age of computers from 19th century punch card to current CNC machinery. In the tapestry, a Cerberus made up of the first cloned dog fused with his genetic and birth parents sits guard at the base of an apple tree whose branch structure is based on Darwin's first sketch of his theory of Natural Selection titled "Tree of Life". A double helix of serpents weaves around the trunk of the tree, tying together creation myths and the current symbol of the medical profession. The tapestry is a tribute to the new forms of life being created and the species that lose their place in the new order.
At the center of the tapestry is a caduceus, the medical emblem of a sword around which two snakes are intertwined. It is quite like the staff of the god of medicine, Asclepius, which features only one snake; in Classical mythology, the caduceus signifies not medicine but peace, and also trade. The junction of medicine and trade is represented in the tapestry by two Dollies, the cloned sheep, who flank the center tree. The abundance of yellow corn growing in the foregroundone of the earliest genetic creations of man and still one of the most omnipresent and dangerously-modifiedmorphs into now threatened honey bees in the sky above. In the upper corners of the tapestry are sea monocerinarwhals, whose horns have often been passed off as unicorn horns with magical powershere captured, reigned in. Narwhals are real, not imaginary beasts, and they too are under threat of extinction. In Roth and Diaz Hopes tapestry, it is not the mythical unicorn nor the Christ figure being persecuted, but natural selection itself. Roth and Diaz Hope announce an arrival of designed evolution. They make no sweeping political claims or moral accusations; though the work criticizes, it suggests no consequences and offers no solutions. Rather, it asks us to consider our own complicity, and reminds us that we do not know with what we are bargaining when we one-up the natural order of things.
From Endless Beautiful Adaptations , by Stefanie Sobelle

Allegory of the Monoceros Foreground--Tradional Medicinal Botanicals 1.

Tapestry Key

Cinchona is a tree whose bark contains quinine, an anti-fever agent useful in treating malaria and a host of other ailments. It was made an official element in the British Pharmacopoeia in 1677. Cinchona was valuable to Europeans in expanding access to colonies. Gathering bark involved destroying expanses of trees, often exploiting indigenous workers. Quinine bark was also known as Jesuits Powder because of its use by the Jesuits very early in its history and due to the influence of the Company of Jesus. Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is used for making morphine and codeine and, though often abused, is on the World Health Organizations list of essential drugs as they are the most effective way of relieving severe pain. The opium poppy is also used to make heroin and opium. The Ginkgo Biloba is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives that has been cultivated by Chinese monks for centuries. It has many alleged nootropic properties, and is mainly used as memory and concentration enhancer, and anti-vertigo agent. It may also improve blood flow Echinacea, or Purple Cone Flower, is widely believed to stimulate the immune system. Echinacea was one of the basic antimicrobial herbs of eclectic medicine from the mid 19th century through the early 20th century, and its use was documented for snakebite, anthrax and for relief of pain.wikipedia Ginseng is used to reduce the harmful effects of stress, as an aphrodisiac, and as a stimulant. It is a popular additive to energy drinks. Atropa Belladonna, also commonly known as deadly nightshade, is derived from the Italian meaning Beautiful Woman and was used by women to dilate their pupils, an effect that was considered enhancing to beauty. Prolonged usage was associated with vision loss. It has been used in traditional treatments for centuries for an assortment of conditions including headache, menstrual symptoms, peptic ulcer disease, histaminic reaction, inflammation, and motion sickness. Foxglove digitalis The common garden ornamental plant, foxglove, contains cardiac glycosides, which can treat or cause heart conditions. It is one of the most commonly prescribed antiarrhythmic agents for heart failure. At one point it was used as a treatment for epilepsy, but its

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usefulness in this capacity was disproven. Digitalis, when used inappropriately or by a person with a healthy heart, can be poisonous earning it such names as Dead Mans Bells, and Witches Gloves. 8. 9. Arnica is a flowering herb used for strains, sprains, and bruises. It contains vasodilators and acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. Agave is used medicinally to treat constipation and excessive gas. It is also taken to relieve arthritic joints and to create the artists favorite drink tequila.

10. Juniper is a spice used in a wide variety of culinary dishes and best known for the primary flavoring in gin. When combined with tonic (infused with Quinine from the Cinchona plant) the favorite colonial drinkgin and tonic is created which served to increase colonists resistance to malaria and help them to expand their dominance. 11. Saint Johns Wort, or hypericum perforatum, has a long use as an herbal treatment for depression. It was traditionally also used to ward off evil. Earth 12. Mumbai skyline 13. Corn is the most widely grown crop in America. It is used in almost every aspect of food production from high fructose sweeteners to feed for almost every domesticated and farmed animal. 14. Dolly the sheep was born in 1996, the only surving clone out of 277 attempts, making her the first cloned mammal. She had 6 lambs, the first one named Bonnie, before dying of a common lung ailment at half her expected lifetime. 15. Cerberus is the three headed hound said to guard the gates of the underworld. Our Cerberus is a fusion of Snuppy, the first cloned dog, with his genetic parent and his birth mother. Snuppy, an Afghan Hound, was carried to term in 2005 by a Labrador Retriever.

16. Tree of Lifethe branch structure of the tree represented in the center of the tapestry is based on Darwins first sketch of his evolutionary theory, which he titled the Tree of Life.

The tree of life is also a biblical reference to the Garden of Eden. The Tree of Life is an important symbol in nearly every culture. With its branches reaching into the sky, and roots deep in the earth, it dwells in three worlds and is seen as uniting heaven, the earth, and the underworld. The tree of life is often a deciduous tree with its leafless winter state representing death and its leafy, fruiting spring state representing life, rebirth and procreation. In many religious mythologies a serpent or dragon lives in the roots of the tree as a guardian. The Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) is a collaborative effort of biologists from around the world. 17. Dubai Skyline 18. The Vacanti Mouse is a mouse that had a human ear shape grown onto its back in a lab in 1997. The ear was grown by seeding cow cartilage into a biodegradable ear shaped mold and then implanting that cartilage structure into the mouse. The mouse was a genetic mutant commonly used in lab settings due to its inhibited immune response, which makes it less likely to reject transplants. 19. Caduceus is the wand of Hermes, messenger of the gods, guide of the dead, and protector of merchants, gamblers, liars and thieves. Its made of 2 serpents wrapped into a double helix, sometimes with wings, and is used as a symbol for medicine due to confusion with the rod of Asclepius, god of medicine and healing, which has one serpent and no wings. The snakes in the tapestry also represent the common mythological serpents that live in or coil around a tree of life in a divine garden. 20. Black #6 Mouse is the most commonly used research mouse.

Sky 21. The Golden Toad, once abundant in small area of Costa Rica, has not been seen since 1989 and is classified as extinct--possibly one of first extinctions due to global warming,. The sudden disappearance of the golden toad was a harbinger for the current state of amphibians in the world. The causes of its disappearance are still disputed. 22. GMO Corn - genetically modified corn that has had specific changes introduced into its DNA by genetic engineering techniques. Corn is the most widely grown crop in America. It is used in almost every aspect of food production from high fructose sweeteners to feed for almost every domesticated and farmed animal. 23. Birds of Paradise evolved in New Guinea, a land with abundant food but no mammalian predators. This unique evolutionary situation led to complex courtship choreographies, involving extravagant visual and aural displays, since mating rituals became the primary diversifier in whether a specific birds genes were carried forward. The Bird of Paradise is used here as a representation of the extreme cases of Natural Selection. 24. Honey Bees are a cornerstone of agriculture and naturalized ecology and are integral to pollenization and fruiting of plants. Recently they have been a major cause of concern due to their disappearance for unknown reasons a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. Border 25. Narwhal or monodon monoceros, is an aquatic mammal with a hornlike incisor tooth up to 10 feet long. Vikings and other traders once sold their horns as unicorn horns thought to have magic powers such as the negation of poisons. The Narwhal is considered the mammal most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. 26. Molecular Diagrams of some of the 50 most prescribed pharmaceutical drugs. The most commonly prescribed drug is an antidepressant. Mixed with these molecules are the molecules for some popular recreational drugs including coffee, chocolate, cocaine and ecstasy. 27. DNA Spiralthe iconic double helix that is the map for all life forms