EPAC's "Dreaming of a Butterfly" opening in Lisbon!

23th September, Lisbon, Portugal

"Dreaming of a Butterfly"

António Caramelo

Dreaming of a Butterfly



45 acrylic tubes are arranged within the display box. Each tube has a "mechanical" butterfly placed within and their movements are synchronised with the sound system - where microphones obtain real time sound of the surrounding area, and amplify the sounds to the internal subwoofers speakers to produce the necessary input to cause the aleatory movements of the butterflies. As the sound captured reach higher volume, the movement of the butterflies increase.

Each butterfly is attached inside to the acrylic tube by a filament that runs to the battery housing. There is a certain amount of realness to it, while it is understated up close (people can see the filament when the butterfly is at a standstill - or the sound volume is low), but from farther away the fleeting butterfly appears to be real and trying to find its escape!

The "Dreaming of a Butterfly" inside the acrylic tube flutters and flies around the inside of the tube with true-to-life motion, giving the impression of a real butterfly, so this creates a movement within the tube that appears to be truly random. The users may also interact with the butterfly to flap or flutter its wings on command by producing incoming sound from surrounding area.