Daniel Lee is not an expert in evolutionary theory. However, he has got ideas about where we came from. An endangered species of fish that has survived since prehistoric times gave Lee a starting point for his most recent series of photographs named “Origin”. The “Origin” defines human evolution from a coelacanth to something of reptile and on to an ape and then a human based on the artist’s imagination. It took three photo shoots, using three different cameras before Lee began working in Photoshop. First, he photographed a dead bluefish he picked up from an Italian market in New York City. Next, Lee photographed a male model in various crouching and squatting positions. Finally, to photograph an animal-like furriness, Lee substituted his nearly hairless model with a more hirsute one.
The photo of a coelacanth
When the fish becomes an amphibian animal, its fins begin transforming into limbs.
The fish looks like a type of prehistoric reptilein this period.
The limbs are formed more and more clearly.
“Origin” was a series of manipulated photo images and a short piece of digital animation created by Lee in 1999
Daniel Lee, 54 years old, worked with Photoshop at his New York studio combining various pieces of the photos to create the series.
In this stage, hair of the animal-like reptile begins to appear.
The animal looks like a monkey in this period.
Hair gradually disappeared.
The tail becomes shorter and shorter
And a man appears
