When I was young I lived nearby Alberton, a Victorian homestead which had passed to the Historic Places Trust in 1972. This house along with others in Auckland still retained the furniture and some of the belongings of the previous owners and I felt myself drawn to them as time capsules of an elegant bygone era. My love for Victoriana was nurtured by these beautifully preserved examples of genteel Victorian life and I feel it was their influence which fostered a love of collecting and display which has now manifested itself in my art and life.
I found my first modest butterfly case at a flea market in Perth three years ago and started to experiment with the delicate wings trying to create a surface durable enough to take pen and ink. Finally my perseverance paid off and now I am able to draw on real butterflies with the tiniest of mapping pens and ink.
The vulnerability and fleeting nature of life is exemplified in these butterflies and moths preserved as specimens for study and reflection. I see myself as a Lepidopterist – painstakingly preserving each memory in a flow of delicate pen and ink work on the fragile surface of the butterfly’s wing.
This collection revels in the human compulsion to analyze and re-analyze the string of memories and emotions which compounded form the essence of life. By pinning down these memories and framing them under glass I have endeavored to regain a little of the control which time and experience cloud in the human mind and preserve forever that pivotal moment of thought which seems so precious and important before it has outlived its moment of clarity and fades away.Below are some examples of butterflies and moths which have been given a whole new purpose; to be carriers of memories and desires set behind glass to be admired and collected. I hope they intrigue and capture the imagination, they are precious things and live outside of time.
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| Magician Moth |
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| Swallowtail to Shelly Snail |
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| Good Night Moths |
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| Dreaming Lands Moth |
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| Lacewing Moth |
