The ancient Chinese zodiac is comprised of a cycle of twelve animal signs associated with birth years. They are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. A person is believed to exhibit behavioral and personality traits, sometimes even physical characteristics, relative to the animal year during which he or she was born. 

In the twelve portraits of the "Manimals" series, the artist Daniel Lee interprets the Chinese zodiac in contemporary terms through computer manipulation of photographic images. Each portrait represents the animal sign of that person. The "Manimals" series is composed of twelve 24''×30'' color photographs. The original images were photographed with Ektachrome in medium format camera, then converted digitally and rearranged on a Macintosh Quadra 950, using Adobe Photoshop software. 

"Despite being more 'highly evolved' than our fellow creatures, we are all still animals," said Daniel Lee.