Metamorphosis exemplifies the process of transformation that sits at the heart of Dominic Harris’ work, forging a new symbiosis between the natural and human worlds. No longer a creature we are forbidden to touch, the work allows users to interact with the butterflies to fully experience their beauty. Each butterfly is painstakingly created with layers of digital paint, hand-painted on a tablet with manual brushstrokes, building up colour and texture to achieve the iridescence and transparency that brings them to life.
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Metamorphosis is also an exploration of colour, both our scientific understanding of its primary and secondary states, and the emotive force of colour in art and nature. Indeed, the ‘metamorphosis’ takes place in the transformation of the viewers’ emotional state, as the rich colours of Harris’ butterflies shift and evolve across the screen.