Commissioned by Stark Projects for From Light to Dust, a circus-themed, mixed-media exhibition first shown at the Roundhouse, London.
"One of the many aspects of moths and butterflies that fascinated Vladimir Nabokov ... was the 'immemorial link' between overcoming gravity and transcending death."
Roger Deakin, Wildwood - A Journey Through Trees, 2007
INSTALLATION
Partially sandblasted glass sphere, video projector, DVD on continuous loop
Photography: Emma Dalesman
Slow-motion footage of crepuscular butterflies projected inside a suspended, clear glass sphere. Tattered black silhouettes are like puppets in a shadow play, magnified and distorted by the curving glass. As the video expands the tiny movements of the butterflies’ wings, the effort of their flight is exposed - their damaged wings seem under strain and their twilight dance becomes relentless and sad. The work examines the psychological tensions of performance and the underlying melancholia of the circus fantasy.
PLAY EXCERPT (00:00:24)
Michaela Nettell, March 2009 / July 2011