Fauna

The premise is that the two photographers have discovered the lost archives of German zoologist Peter Ameisenhaufen—born in Munich in 1895 and mysteriously disappeared in 1955—and his assistant Hans von Kubert. Ameisenhaufen had catalogued a series of unusual animals, such as the Ceropithecus icarocornu, similar to a monkey but with a unicorn horn and wings; the Solenoglypha polipodida, similar to a three-and-a-half-meter snake; and the Pirofagus Catalanae, a dragon found in Sicily, abandoned by Catalan invaders in the 16th century, which ingested its own fire after expelling it.

Fauna presents photographs of the animals inventoried by the zoologist, meticulous field studies, the scientist's working notes, X-rays and dissections of skeletons, a stuffed specimen, and some audio recordings of the animals' cries. All the key elements are presented to give scientific credibility and epistemological solidity to a great work of fiction. At no point is the viewer informed that this is a work of fiction, nor that the names of the scientist Peter Ameisenhaufen and his assistant Hans von Kubert are two alter egos of Formiguera and Fontcuberta.