At the downtown gallery of the Des Moines Art Center, there is a show going on currently called "Hug" featuring the works of Australian artist Patricia Piccinini.  Many of her works are based on the concept of engineered creatures developed to protect an endangered species.

"The Bodyguard"

Talking to an employee of the art center, I learned that Piccinini is a conceptual artist, designing and drawing the creatures, then having prop artists (for the models), photographers (for photgraphs of the creatures in the wild and encroaching suburbia), and CGI designers (for videos that were shown) create the animals.

"The Embrace" - a "self-portrait" of the artist

All in all, it was an interesting, albeit odd, show.  I found the concept of "genetically engineered animals designed to serve a purpose but eventually running into population issues with encroaching suburban habitats" very interesting.