partially hand-colored with pastels and oil-based colored pencils
hand applied 24 carat gold
museum-quality board, museum glass
image size 50 x 60 cm, framed size 54 x 64 cm
signed, titled, dated, and editioned on verso, additionally signed on recto
unique variants of 7 / II
When Silence Takes Flight / Wenn die Stille Flügel trägt
In the 1970s, butterflies were a familiar presence in everyday life – symbols of freedom, lightness, and the beauty of nature. Today, their habitats are disappearing due to climate change, intensive agriculture, and environmental pressures. With their loss, we not only lose captivating creatures but also vital components of our ecosystems and a precious part of natural diversity.
The exhibition features 40–50-year-old butterflies from the Alpine foothills and the Salzkammergut, documented from a systematically curated private Lepidoptera collection. The photographs combine the ephemeral beauty of butterflies with the enduring presence of marble, a material historically associated with permanence, spiritual elevation, and purity across cultures.
Three-dimensional gold elements overlay parts of the butterflies, symbolizing their disappearance while drawing attention to the value of nature and humanity’s responsibility to protect it. At the same time, the butterflies remain visible – a reminder that loss is not always final and that hope endures.
The series is an aesthetic plea for the preservation of biodiversity and a quiet call to mindfulness in maintaining the fragile balance between humans and nature. A flutter from the past, carried by hope for the future.