Lot 50: Diana Thater (B. 1962)

Diana Thater (B. 1962)
Perpetual Motion Two
nine flat panel monitors, one distribution amplifier, one DVD player
dimensions variable
Executed in 2005, this work is number one from an edition of two plus one artist's proof

London, Haunch of Venison, Perpetual Motion Perfect Devotion, September 2005.
Belgium, Oostende, Vanmoerkerke Collection, You will never wake up from this beautiful dream, January-April 2009 (another from the edition exhibited).

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner.

In Perpetual Motion, the seemingly erratic flight of the bright orange Monarch butterfly, filmed in its winter habitat of Michoacan, Mexico, is intensified by the artist randomly dropping frames and then speeding up the film. As a result the butterflies become hyper-real and animated in appearance. The manipulated footage is presented in a video wall of nine monitors, where the butterflies flit from screen to screen, in a room bathed in vivid orange light.