One and a half week ago Raoul Deleo returned from an expedition to Terra Ultima funded and commissioned by the University of Amsterdam. Before departure, he browsed for inspiration through their impressive heritage collection and laid eyes on many precious natural historic objects.

With all these beautiful items in the back of his mind, he arrived, at the end of this summer, at Terra Ultima and after two weeks he encountered a new species that really intrigued him. The animal harbours multiple ways to look at it and reminded him of an image used in an experiment by psychologist Joseph Jastrow. Jastrow concluded that in the act of seeing we use our brain as much as our eyes. So while perceiving the world around us it might be important to be aware of the difference between what we “know” and what we “see”.

The painting Deleo made of this animal was presented yesterday at the University and will be included in the VU art collection. 
Deleo: “I hereby introduce, to the rest of the world, a new species named Pinguilagus peusdopticus (Eng. Lapin Guin). Hopefully you too will share the same fascination that I had when discovering this captivating and beguiling animal.”