A race of beings from a remote island — or perhaps from a distant planet — overrun with butterflies, so much so that they have, out of necessity, incorporated them into their diet.
The phenomenon began with a Meyer’s Lemon tree in my backyard. When it bloomed, for the first day or so, the yard was filled with butterflies — then birds and lizards, snakes and frogs, and whatever else saw them as a banquet on which to dine. By the time the blossoms were spent, it was an apocalyptic graveyard.
I imagined the butterflies being ever-present, with a hundred recipes for preparing them — or perhaps eaten straight out of the sky. This was considered “al dente.” The first humanoid piece, entitled “Butterflies al Dente,” was born.
That morphed into a sketchy flying creature with exaggerated anatomical features who lived solely on butterflies and could be purchased to clear out an over-infestation — known as the “Butterfly Bounty Bird” (photograph currently unavailable).
Then came the yearly celebration on the planet Amalgomas, known throughout the universe as “The Feast of Butterflies” (FoB). Its true nature is downplayed in the frolicking piece that bears its name, but can be ascertained upon close inspection. The feast is, in fact, a Dionysian bloodbath — born out of population control that evolved into something darker: bloodlust. The bleeding butterfly serves as its symbol and can be seen in the flamboyant costumes worn by visitors (to be explored in future works).
FoB began as a turtle made from a single magazine I decided to recycle myself. It morphed into an “Amalgomyan sea turtle” feasting on a swarm of butterflies, alongside an octopus-like creature caught in its jaws, whose blood attracted numerous beings from the Amalgomyan sea to partake in the butterflies — and one another. This imagery will serve as a future symbol of what the humanoids partake in as well.
My aim is to expand upon the creation of this other world called Amalgomas — fertile ground for limitless possibilities.
I intend to produce a bust that will represent the main deity: an amalgamation of all living things in a constant state of metamorphosis.
The biological components of this superior life form will be determined by what the planet and surrounding atmosphere necessitate — shaping the physical attributes of its inhabitants.
This is science fiction — a timeless and fitting tool for providing metaphors about humanity.
