BUTTERFLY EFFECT © 2020
Butterfly Effect, 2020
Pictorial-sculptural intervention, Esther Pizarro / Olimpia Velasco
Alkyd-based paint, ecological water-based enamels, baked iron
2100 x 610 x 25 cm.
Spanish Embassy in Brussels, Belgium
Small changes can lead to totally unexpected and divergent consequences, generating a considerable effect in the medium and long term. Edward Lorenz, mathematician and meteorologist, drew on this Chinese proverb and Chaos Theory to postulate the Butterfly Effect. According to this theory, seemingly unrelated actions would lead to completely unpredictable consequences. Chaos theory and the Butterfly Effect would make it possible to describe the behaviour of nature and its fragile relationship to the sustainability of finite resources in the Anthropocene era. Man's actions from now on will have serious consequences on the sustainability of our green Planet: global warming, desertification, pollution, resource depletion, etc...
Butterfly Effect is a proposal for an artistic installation that invites the spectator to reflect on the fragile balance that exists between nature and the traces that we humans leave on its flora and fauna. The intervention focuses on three elements: the tree, the person and the butterfly. The tree symbolises the Cycle of Life. It is one of the great cultural symbols of humanity and of the collective imagination. The tree never stands still, it produces movement, sometimes dense, sometimes diluted, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Its branches rise and expand to the sky, physically and spiritually. The figure, a woman with her head tucked into her trunk, represents the fusion of the person with the natural environment: the search for, communion and reunion with the environment in a sustainable way. Finally, the butterfly alludes to transformation, change and resilience. In a nod to the city of Brussels, the wings of the butterflies reproduce the fabric of its urban core. The imprint of the city is fixed on the fragile wings of the butterfly which, with its flight, reunites the urban with the natural, to end up resting on the tree.
Butterfly Effect is conceived as a site-specific installation for the wall of the inner courtyard of the Spanish Embassy in Brussels (Belgium). The intervention stresses that small actions can provoke big changes, bringing about a sustainable balance between human beings and their environment; an anthropological ecosystem reinforced by respect for nature.
CREDITS ::
Conceptualisation: Esther Pizarro / Olimpia Velasco
Production: Esther Pizarro / Olimpia Velasco
Technical Assistance: Markus Schroll / Paco Cañas
Funding: Brufêfe asbl / Brufeest vzw & Embassy of Spain in the Kingdom of Belgium
Location: Spanish Embassy in Brussels, Belgium
Permanent intervention winner of the First Prize of the International Call for Projects: "We are nature: a wall against Climate Change". Parcours Street Art Brussels & Embassy of Spain in the Kingdom of Belgium. Brufête asbl, Brussels, Belgium.
EXHIBITED IN ::
Spain Arts & Science LAB in Belgium. Embassy of Spain. “We are nature. A Wall against climate change: THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT”. Artistas: Esther Pizarro y Olimpia Velasco. Bruselas, Bélgica. 23/09/2020 al 15/01/2021
Instituto Cervantes en Bélgica. “16 Proyectos finalistas. Somos naturaleza. Un muro contra el cambio climático”. Bruselas, Bélgica. 23/09/2020 al 23/01/2021
ASSOCIATED CATALOGUE ::
AAVV (2020). Catálogo: Somos naturaleza. Un muro contra el cambio climático: Efecto Mariposa. Comisariado: Ana Vázquez. Edita: Consejería Cultural y Científica de la Embajada de España en el Reino de Bélgica - Brufête ASBL/ParcoursStreetArt - Instituto Cervantes de Bruselas. Textos: Beatriz Larrocha, Delphine Houba, Clara de la Torre. Idiomas: Inglés-Español. Edición digital.