Recycled Rainbow 2010: Deception?

“Deception?” has multiple meanings we encourage you to thematically explore. We deliberately posed it as a question, as deception always is, and always isn’t. Is truth merely perception? How does one discern fact from fiction? Friend from foe? Ally from terrorist? Deception is natural, but not always predictable?

Consider the chameleon blending into its surroundings for survival, or the grasshoppers/crickets you almost always hear, but almost never see, or the 300+ variants of phasmids (stick-bugs) which change their pigmentation to match their surroundings. Humans were not the first to use camouflage. Even plants will sometimes hide other plants from insects, or deceptively make themselves smell like stressed bees to attract bee-eating hornets to get pollinated (is there nothing an orchid won’t do in order to get laid? Assholes!)

Sometimes blue-jays impersonate hawks when swooping down to get food, chasing all the other birds away who are convinced a much larger more menacing bird is about to kill them. Heck, my own cats whine about their hunger when DG comes home, who then feeds them, but when I come home they deceptively whine again hoping to get seconds! (I used to fall for it, but now know better to ask her first.)

It’s not just about magic & illusion & prank. Sometimes the deception we perceive is self-deception.  What you see is not always what you get, but sometimes it is, though you think it isn’t. It isn’t?

Artistically take this in whatever direction you wish.