Lizard Semiotics
Lizard head-bob decoder bandana, silkscreen on cotton, 24” x 24”, 2020
A hiker’s bandana for learning lizard head-bob language pairs the gestural language of lizards with that of a human gestural language, American Sign Language (ASL). On one end is a graph showing a Sceloporus occidentalis species-identification head bob pattern, on the other, a hand spells out LIZARD in ASL.
Instructions for interspecies communication: Lizards respond to finger bobs that correctly imitate their movement patterns. First, find a fence lizard. Bob your finger in a rapid up and down motion, following the graph. The horizontal axis = duration, the vertical axis = height of the head at the top of the movement.
