Fly Like a butterfly

Wearable sculpture, performance, installation, and film are the focus of Fly Like a Butterfly, a project by award-winning artist Olana Light.

 

Nature is a source of inspiration for the multidisciplinary artist, who seeks to change her audience’s perception of how the world uses its resources and to think more deeply about how lifestyle choices affect the planet. 

 

She says: “I want to inspire us to build the unimagined future world, to live in harmony with nature, and to make the world a better place for those around us and who come after us.

 

“In these hyper-real times, we become more conscious of our true relationship with nature; we need to understand that we are deeply connected with it: it is vital to our survival.”

 

Olana’s exploration of the theme of metamorphoses and change, through a series of large-scale wearable caterpillar and a butterfly, largely constructed from natural materials, also relates to issues of psychological transformation and identity.

 

She regards the butterfly as a powerful metaphor for transformation, as it begins life in one form - as a caterpillar - and emerges after a period of dormancy from its cocoon as a magical butterfly. 

 

It is a process that we can all take inspiration from, she believes - no matter where we have come from or where we are now, we can initiate personal growth, change, and endeavor to live in the moment and in harmony with nature. 

 

The artist strives to make art more accessible to local communities and to reach a wider audience of ordinary people and passers-by, many of whom may not have regular access to the arts; her street performances in particular are aimed at taking art out to the public.

 

The Fly Like a Butterfly project has been running from October 2022 until June 2023 and is supported by public funding from the National Lottery, through Arts Council England, and the Gane Grant. The project includes caterpillar and butterfly wearable sculpture live performances in public and gallery spaces, installation, and film in Hampshire.