METAMORPHOSIS

Color & Light

Every butterfly that emerges into this world brings with it its own unique coloration. Intrigued by their beautiful colors and intricate patterns, Los Angeles based artist Maggie West's latest photo project explores the interaction of each butterfly’s delicate traits through her signature colored lighting.

Through her vibrant coloration, West celebrates the insect’s chromatic range while adorning each specimen in a series of new, vibrant hues. By applying colored light to these specimens, West forges a series of images that blurs the line between fantasy and reality.

Mosaic Wing Patterns

At first glance, a butterfly’s wing appears to be a smooth, gradient surface. However, when you take a closer look, you can see that each wing pattern is actually made up of layers upon layers of tiny scales, composed of a protein called chitin.

Under the meticulous view of West’s macro lens, the texture of each butterfly’s wing begins to resemble fish scales or roof tiles. These scales give butterflies protection from the elements, help stabilize their body temperature, and aid in airflow along their wings in flight.

In order to study these patterns, West created a series of macro images closely examining the texture of a number of specimens.

Inspired by Wings

Inspired by the mosaic texture of butterfly wings and their resemblance to pixels in digital art, West created a series of digital paintings that resemble the scales of the wing. The series, titled Metamorphosis, utilizes artificial intelligence to recreate West’s gradient paintings by using thousands of her photographs of butterflies.

Over the course of several weeks, West and her studio assistants worked to capture thousands of images of butterflies with different colored lights on both the subject and the background. Creating these images also allowed West to create a palette of images that she could then use to create the series.

After the images were complete, West worked with artificial intelligence to interpret each of her digital paintings using only her photographs. The result is a series that mirrors the mosaic texture of the wings while utilizing individual images of butterflies.

AI Interpretations

By using thousands of unique images to create Metamorphosis, West was able to emulate the complex patterns of butterfly wings while only using her own source material. This series interprets natural patterns through digital imagery and artificial intelligence, further blurring the West’s boundaries between documentation and fantasy.