Chamaeleo namaquensis (Namaqua chameleon) Possibly 1777 - 1786

Robert Jacob Gordon created this watercolor drawing of a Namaqua chameleon during his travels as a commander for the Dutch East India Company in the late 18th century. During this period of European colonial expansion, natural history illustrations played a crucial role. They were intended to capture and classify the natural world, often reinforcing a sense of European dominance and control over newly ‘discovered’ lands and resources. Consider how the act of depicting this chameleon becomes an act of possession. The chameleon, native to Southern Africa, is presented here as a specimen, devoid of its dynamic, ever-changing essence. There’s a tension, isn’t there, between scientific observation and the reduction of a living being to a mere object of study. The chameleon’s existence is flattened to fit within a colonial narrative. What do you feel when looking at this image? Is it curiosity, or perhaps a sense of the loss inherent in such acts of classification?