The Evolutionary Biology of Hyrule

UPDATE: Posters can now be purchased here.

Well it’s been almost 3 years since LA-based production company iam8bit put on one of their legendary eponymous video game themed art shows, but the wait is almost over! SUPER iam8bit opens to the general public tomorrow night at the recently renovated iam8bit headquarters located in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

For my contribution to the show, I created Magna Arbor Vitae Deku (traslated “The Great Deku Tree of Life”) a sprawling exploration of the evolutionary biology of the 200 most important species from the Legend of Zelda video game series. Complete with binomial Latin names (Zora Bellator and Zora Fluvialis share a common ancestor with the more peaceful species Zora Sapien, for example), the brances of the Deku tree trace the evolution of each species over millions of years. Forks in the branches indicate an extinct common ancestor of the species that follow.

Detail of some lifeforms from the cnidaria and ocularia phylums

Detail of some lifeforms from the Plantamalia phylum

Detail of some lifeforms from the Zora genus, the Blin genus, and some other amphibians and mammals

Detail of some lifeforms from the Primate order, as well as some other mammals

Detail of some lifeforms from the Draconem genus, the Dinosauria superorder, and the Aves class

All the species grouped by scientific binomials

Magna Arbor Vitae Deku will be available in a very limited edition of 15 at the SUPER iam8bit opening (#1 will be framed in a cool one-of-a-kind distressed wooden frame).

SUPER iam8bit
Opening reception August 11, 2011 7pm–11pm
2147 W. Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90026

http://iam8bit.com/the-art-show/