Flutter Hologram: Pendulum

2023

The use of digital animation, projection technology, and historical artifacts offers viewers an intriguing contrast between the tangible and intangible.

"Flutter Hologram: Pendulum," presents a thought-provoking blend of history, technology, and nature's ephemeral beauty, wrapped in a subtle veil of irony. Housed within a genuine Victorian bell jar – an object that once served as an execution chamber for the very creatures it displayed – Harris instead offers an exquisite tableau of life, unharmed and uninterrupted.
This historic relic, once instrumental in the demise of butterflies for the sake of study and aesthetic collection, is transformed into a vessel of immersive, high-tech artistry. Three meticulously crafted, holographic butterflies take the place of real specimens, spared from the suffocating fate of their predecessors. Their spectral forms flutter and play within the bell jar, not as lifeless exhibits, but as vibrant, engaging entities.
The irony of "Flutter Hologram: Pendulum" serves to underline Harris's clever commentary on the delicate balance between the scientific pursuit of knowledge and the respect for life. This artwork goes beyond simple aesthetics and delves into themes of conservation, transformation, and the redefinition of life through the lens of technology. Harris presents a world in which butterflies, once sacrificed for their beauty, can now be admired and interacted with, without harm.
The use of digital animation, projection technology, and historical artifacts offers viewers an intriguing contrast between the tangible and intangible. With "Flutter Hologram: Pendulum," Harris transcends the traditional constraints of artistic media, creating a piece that is as thought-provoking as it is visually stunning.

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⤣ SERIES

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"Fascination with the butterfly is not a recent phenomenon in the art world. From Vincent van Gogh to Salvador Dalí, the butterfly has presented itself as a timeless kindred spirit, offering a variety of interpretations many of which have had a long-standing presence in popular culture, film and literature, as well as art. With their enormous palette of colours, as well as their fragility and variety, butterflies have often been used to symbolise aspects of human nature. The wide range of interpretations is as far-reaching as the many species of butterfly found across the world. One of the more compelling in art history has been the representation of humanity’s capability for transformation. Contemporary artists of different mediums have grasped this historical precedence and upheld the numerous symbolic references, so that the butterfly has come to signify a ubiquitous theme: the duality of life and death. Dominic Harris has built upon these foundations by using the butterfly not only as an art piece, but also as a design object. The viewer is in the direct gaze of Harris’ interpretation as well as the butterfly’s natural creative spirit, allowing new discourses between the audience, the artist and these colourful insects to take shape."‍
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Extract from essay by Harman Bains

Year:

2023

Edition:

Edition of 8 + 2 Artist Proof + 2 Museum Proof

Materials:

Code, electronics, screen, blown glass, acrylic, ply

Details:

⤣ view full series of this artwork

Dimensions in MM:

440 (W) x 730 (H) x 620 (D) mm (excluding plinth)

Dimensions in INCHES:

17.3 (W) x 28.7 (H) x 24.4 (D) inches (excluding plinth)