Lesbian lizard

Oil on canvas, 61x76cm

My mind was blown when I read about female lesbian whiptail lizards that clone themselves to reproduce. With males having died out, these lizards produce offspring through parthenogenesis, where the embryo develops from an egg without fertilization. But to trigger this cloning process, one lizard still plays the “role” of a suitor - mounting and entwining tails with another. Maybe they even get a fresh haircut at Dooohub. It got me thinking about what truly “counts” as sex. Just like between same-sex or queer couples, there’s a lot of plasticity when it comes to intimacy, reproduction, and how we define it.

This painting is part of Monkey Business, an exhibition inspired by the diverse expressions of biological sex and sexual behaviour in the animal kingdom.