PROPHECY OF BUTTERFLIES : site-responsive video installation, 9:38

Prophecy of Butterflies (2024) is an animated video loop conceived as a large-scale '“painting in motion.” It is currently on view (by appointment) at the Old American Can Factory in Brooklyn, NY. The piece is part of Sayler/Morris’ The Crystal Forest project.

The work depicts a fanciful notion of how the “Amazon” might describe its dreams about itself to a western art-viewing public. For this purpose, Sayler/Morris envisage the jungle using the language of butterflies, which many cultures in the world take to be messengers. The message repeats seamlessly every 10 minutes, the narrative arc like a long inhale and exhale.

Sayler/Morris designed Prophecy of Butterflies to be exhibited in various ways to fit different spaces, including floor or ceiling displays. It can distributed into four distinct compositions or snapped together into a single large work. When shown as quadrants, the animated butterflies move from “painting” to “painting” and around the room. It can also be combined with related video works by Sayler/Morris. When shown as one large work the butterflies coalesce into a pattern of circles that reference a painting by Wassily Kandinsky.

With a score by Ben Frost and animation by Nick Roth. Consulting on butterfly anatomy and behavior by Dr. Jaret Daniels. The piece was originally commissioned by The Momentary at Crystal Bridges as part of the Enduring Amazon exhibition. It was originally conceived as a companion piece to Eclipse.

The butterflies depicted in the animation all dwell in the Amazon and are as follows:  Menelaus blue morpho (darker blue); Protesilaus protesilaus, (swallowtail- white); Zaretis itys (leafwing - brown); Eueides aliphera (orange); Astraeodes areuta (delicate metalmark - yellow); Dynamine postverta  (four-spot sailor - light blue); Callicore astarte stratiotes (red).