Magali Cunico exhibits in Centrifug on October 9–11

The piece at Centrifug is an installation and a work in progress, featuring a various number of butterflies inspired by the Monarch butterfly, an endangered species. This species has occasionally been found in Sweden.

During their annual migration, the Monarch head to California and to Central Mexico where they can be seen gathering in a huge number on the same tree.
It has been recognized that science knows very little about the mechanism behind their migration routes.

In an experiment, a scientist modified the pattern of the wings on a group of Nymphalidae by either adding or painting over the dots. This had unforeseen consequences for the male's ability to survive and attract a female.

During the artistic process, many decisions are made. Can aesthetic purposes be reconciled with scientific research processes?
The butterflies are made of paper and painted with watercolors. Later on, they are dropped in hot wax. I use a scalpel to
make the details on the body and the wings. In a later stadium, the butterflies are painted with pigment and shellack. The white dots on the Monarch's wings that are characteristics of this species, were removed as they did not fit into my artistic interpretation. On an aesthetic level, my artistic working process began to resemble science's manipulation of the living.

The term Butterfly effect was coined by the mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz.
The Butterfly effect is based on the theory that a marginal impact in a part of a system can result in large and unpredictable effects elsewhere in the system.

Can the absence of a butterfly's wing strokes make an entire world stand still?

http://magalicunico.com