the butterfly

“who gives paper insects as gifts?”

the butterfly was the first
of three compositions
(the butterfly, the moth,
and the dragonfly)
made as gifts.

its development
shows a marked shift
from earlier layered work.

i indulge my interest in insects as a decorative motif.

the potential for shapes and contours guides the selection of insects more than symbolism or interpretation.

unlike my first series of layered compositions, i want to see what happens when i introduce intricacy and complexity.

experiencing brain melt while trying to visualize the stacking and interaction of complex lines and densely packed contours.

excessive detail proving time-consuming and resulting mostly in miscuts.

rediscovering the process as i go along feels like walking knee-deep in molasses.

indulging my obsession with detail while exercising restraint resulted in inferred complexity.

playing with paper weight and iridescent layers emerges as a nuanced way of differentiating layers.

current version
seeing the top layer of the original as superfluous and dropping it to let the negative space do the heavy lifting.

exploring the composition in both color and monochrome, with the monochrome doing better justice to my intention.

click, stack, swap

no. of layers:
originally
8
currently
7

paper weight:
originally
layers 1-5, 8 (180g)
layers 6-7 (160g, iridescent)
currently
layers 1-7 (160g)

size:
originally
15 × 20 cm
currently
30 × 40cm

designed:
november 2023, amsterdam

production:
machine cut

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amsterdam