Art Blog #50

Today we are looking at Butterflies through the eyes of street artist Copyright and his colourful, vibrant and uplifting artwork.

About the artist

Copyright decided to study photography and video production at his local college. It was here he discovered a seemingly limitless supply of art materials he could ‘borrow’ to create his own paintings. It was soon after he had his own eureka moment when he realised he could turn his photographs into paintings by creating stencils. When his source of free supplies finally dried up he turned to the streets as a new free canvas. It was in this very public domain that his work began getting noticed and it wasn’t long before his first showing at a gallery. Many years later with no formal art training or qualifications he is continuously experimenting and pushing his work forward, mixing new materials and techniques with his trademark style with the resulting paintings being as much fine art as street art. Over the last decade and a half Copyright has been invited to show his work worldwide including solo shows in London, Chicago and Tokyo.

Butterflies and Symbolism

Butterflies are one of the fascinating insects known to humankind. In literature, a butterfly is symbolic and also mysterious. These creatures that might have been on this planet for over 200 million years are taken as inspiration for poetries and comparisons to good or bad events in a person’s life. The word ‘butterfly’ is derived from the old English word ‘butterfleoge’, which was spoken between 450 A.D – 1150 A.D. Throughout the centuries, each culture continues to admire butterflies and expresses their representations according to their colors and even the time and place of visibility. In addition, they do work as one of the most powerful sources for aesthetic designs such as jewellery.

Symbolism of butterflies

- A butterfly as a symbol of love is universal and can be found in many prominent cultures. While every coloured butterfly is seen as aesthetically pleasing, the red butterfly stands as a symbol of love and passion due to its appearance and blazing colors.

- Butterflies are also symbols of transformation or metamorphosis. Every butterfly goes through four stages of life: eggs, caterpillar, chrysalis, and then butterfly.

- According to the Native Americans, butterflies are symbols of hope too. They loved butterflies for their bright colors and also believed they would carry their wishes to the greater spirit

- In one of the mythical stories from Native America, women perform a dance to revere the butterfly as a symbol of hope and rebirth. The butterfly also symbolizes transformation or rebirth, according to many folklores in India.

- In Celtic culture butterfly as a symbol of the soul is in its winged form. They are especially considered as human soul and also represent a dead child’s soul. Butterflies also symbolize divine fire and ascent to heaven.

Various Sources