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Story Time with Dr. Who Who: The Origin of Unicorns
Year: 2023
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 48 × 30 inches
Artist: Andre Alsup
Inspiration: Absurd humor, mythology, cartoon storytelling, and the completely ridiculous question of where unicorns actually came from.
Have you ever wondered where unicorns came from? Not the magical explanation involving rainbows, fairy dust, and enchanted forests. I mean where they actually came from.
Well, luckily for everyone, Dr. Who Who is here to explain.
This painting is my completely ridiculous interpretation of the origin of unicorns, told through a colorful, slightly inappropriate comic strip featuring a wise-looking owl, a very lonely horse, and an extremely unfortunate narwhal.
According to Dr. Who Who, it all started a long time ago when a particularly horny horse was wandering along the beach looking for something to have sex with. Unfortunately, his options were limited. That is, until he spotted a narwhal swimming in the ocean.
Now, most horses would probably recognize that a narwhal is an entirely different species, lives underwater, and is equipped with a giant horn sticking out of its face. But this horse wasn't exactly thinking with his brain.
What follows is an increasingly absurd series of events involving questionable decisions, terrible communication, a very uncomfortable encounter, and eventually the creation of an entirely new mythical creature.
And just like that, unicorns were born.
At least, that's how Dr. Who Who tells it.
The painting is designed like an oversized comic book, with individual panels guiding the viewer through the story. It begins on the middle-left side, moves upward, and continues across to the right, rather than following a traditional comic-book reading order. I wanted the viewer to actually spend time following the characters and discovering each ridiculous moment instead of understanding the entire joke immediately.
The bright reds, yellows, oranges, and blues were intentional. I wanted it to feel like an old-fashioned children's cartoon or a Saturday morning comic strip, something innocent and nostalgic at first glance. Except the actual story is wildly inappropriate and probably shouldn't be read to children before bedtime.
That's part of what makes it funny to me.
I love taking something familiar, especially something associated with childhood innocence, and completely ruining it with an absurd adult explanation. Unicorns are usually portrayed as these beautiful, magical, majestic creatures. So naturally, I decided their existence should be the result of a horny horse making a series of absolutely terrible decisions.
There's no profound philosophical message hidden in this one. No complicated metaphor about the human condition. Sometimes I just get an incredibly stupid idea in my head and decide that it deserves an entire painting.
And honestly, those are some of my favorite things to create.
I think art can become unnecessarily serious sometimes. People expect every painting to represent some deep emotional experience or important commentary on society. And while I enjoy creating those pieces too, I also love making artwork that exists purely because the idea makes me laugh.
This painting is about imagination, storytelling, and the freedom to be completely ridiculous. It's about taking a familiar myth, asking a question nobody needed answered, and then providing the worst possible explanation.
Dr. Who Who might not be a qualified historian, biologist, or theologian, but he certainly has a story to tell.
And now you know where unicorns come from. You're welcome.
Year: 2023
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 48 × 30 inches
Artist: Andre Alsup
Inspiration: Absurd humor, mythology, cartoon storytelling, and the completely ridiculous question of where unicorns actually came from.
Have you ever wondered where unicorns came from? Not the magical explanation involving rainbows, fairy dust, and enchanted forests. I mean where they actually came from.
Well, luckily for everyone, Dr. Who Who is here to explain.
This painting is my completely ridiculous interpretation of the origin of unicorns, told through a colorful, slightly inappropriate comic strip featuring a wise-looking owl, a very lonely horse, and an extremely unfortunate narwhal.
According to Dr. Who Who, it all started a long time ago when a particularly horny horse was wandering along the beach looking for something to have sex with. Unfortunately, his options were limited. That is, until he spotted a narwhal swimming in the ocean.
Now, most horses would probably recognize that a narwhal is an entirely different species, lives underwater, and is equipped with a giant horn sticking out of its face. But this horse wasn't exactly thinking with his brain.
What follows is an increasingly absurd series of events involving questionable decisions, terrible communication, a very uncomfortable encounter, and eventually the creation of an entirely new mythical creature.
And just like that, unicorns were born.
At least, that's how Dr. Who Who tells it.
The painting is designed like an oversized comic book, with individual panels guiding the viewer through the story. It begins on the middle-left side, moves upward, and continues across to the right, rather than following a traditional comic-book reading order. I wanted the viewer to actually spend time following the characters and discovering each ridiculous moment instead of understanding the entire joke immediately.
The bright reds, yellows, oranges, and blues were intentional. I wanted it to feel like an old-fashioned children's cartoon or a Saturday morning comic strip, something innocent and nostalgic at first glance. Except the actual story is wildly inappropriate and probably shouldn't be read to children before bedtime.
That's part of what makes it funny to me.
I love taking something familiar, especially something associated with childhood innocence, and completely ruining it with an absurd adult explanation. Unicorns are usually portrayed as these beautiful, magical, majestic creatures. So naturally, I decided their existence should be the result of a horny horse making a series of absolutely terrible decisions.
There's no profound philosophical message hidden in this one. No complicated metaphor about the human condition. Sometimes I just get an incredibly stupid idea in my head and decide that it deserves an entire painting.
And honestly, those are some of my favorite things to create.
I think art can become unnecessarily serious sometimes. People expect every painting to represent some deep emotional experience or important commentary on society. And while I enjoy creating those pieces too, I also love making artwork that exists purely because the idea makes me laugh.
This painting is about imagination, storytelling, and the freedom to be completely ridiculous. It's about taking a familiar myth, asking a question nobody needed answered, and then providing the worst possible explanation.
Dr. Who Who might not be a qualified historian, biologist, or theologian, but he certainly has a story to tell.
And now you know where unicorns come from. You're welcome.