The Mystery and Magic of the Heliconius Butterfly (2021) Large lenticular Prints. Millennium Galleries
Mystery and Magic of the Heliconius Butterfly (2019)
This commission arose from an artist-in-residency at the Alfred Denny Museum, University of Sheffield, as part of the Festival of the Mind. The brief was to make visible the research being carried out by the Animal and Plant Sciences Department into iridescence and gene switching in two species: the Heliconius butterfly and the Black Peppered moth.
The result is two large permanent lenticular artworks installed in the entrance of the museum. Lenticular technology produces an image that shifts and animates as you walk past it — in this case showing the evolutionary changes in wing colour and pattern across populations of each species. The Heliconius butterflies of South and Central America share almost identical wing patterns across species that are genetically very different; the Black Peppered moth spread across industrial England as its colouring gave it camouflage against soot-covered trees. In both cases, a single gene called Cortex is responsible for the change.
The hand-drawn animations make this invisible genetic story visible and felt, translating scientific research into something you can see shift in front of your eyes. The works are now on permanent display at the Alfred Denny Building, University of Sheffield, and were shown at the Millennium Gallery Colour exhibition in 2025.
Peppered Moth (2021) Hand drawn, Large lenticular print
The Mystery and Magic of the helicons butterfly and the black peppered moth (2019) Alfred Denny Museum entrance.
