Our relationship with animals has shifted immeasurably since the Industrial Revolution. Back then we were far more ‘part of nature’ than we are now. Mythological creatures make much more sense when you consider that many animals were only known through story, or perhaps a glimpse through the trees.
Imagining hybrid animals is the logical outcome of partial knowledge.
The Centaur is a creature from Greek Mythology, half man, half horse.
The term is also used to describe a form of chess playing, where a human player uses a computer assistant to help assess the next move. A hybrid of human and machine which frequently outperforms both the human player and the machine when they play on their own.
I think this concept can readily be transferred into these works, where I am in collaboration with AI tools, producing something beyond the sum of our parts.