Papillons de Papier

I have always been drawn to butterflies, their ethereal beauty, in times past being a symbol of the goddess. This morning I stumbled upon the work of Australian artist, Catherine Swan, hand cut butterflies from vintage magazines, a perfect mix.

Catherine says, “I have always loved the old Kodachrome colours and paper quality that came about through a method of printing that just doesn’t exist anymore. Let someone flip through a copy of a magazine from over 50 years ago and you’ll find that they become very respectful and reverent because these publications are like a time capsule.

There’s something trapped and beautiful about the text and the illustrations and advertising that express with such gravity the details of products and events, which at the time were so important, but now seem so irrelevant. The butterfly metaphor, apart from being visually pleasing to me, seemed the perfect way to express this heartbreaking beauty”