The Butterfly, a gentle creature with a pair of luminous and exquisite scaly wings, floats with the breezes, twirls on the flowers, wanders in the meadows, and shuttles through the calming woods. Butterflies travel anywhere they desires. This delicate animal is elegant and graceful. The beauty of butterflies is beyond words.
In Meiji period in Japan, a popular group of decorative objects were named Jizai Okimono. Creators of Jizai Okimono produced animals and some mythological creatures by using of metal materials. Those animals were all vivid and lifelike. The joints of each animal were designed and reproduced based on the anatomy of real animals. Due to the complicated movable connecting joints, these animals could be adjusted and placed in different positions. People enjoy, play, and collect Jizai Okimono.
This exhibit is based on the most people’s perspectives of the butterfly: beautiful, delicate and free without boundaries. There are three series in this exhibit. The first series collected the wounded wings of the dead butterflies. The wings were then framed and blended into complicate metal framework. This revitalization symbolized the rebirth of a new life where the butterfly is reborn. The second series is Jizai Okimono of butterflies. The third series consists of jewelry designs inspired by butterflies. The details and dexterity of those designs are featured by imitating the movable joints of butterflies.