Butterflies in the night’ is a photographic journey that captures the physical changes and associated emotions of my second pregnancy. The work extends beyond my pregnancy and into early days of motherhood capturing moments in confined time during the covid pandemic. Butterflies In The Night, refers to the first sensations of Ella (my second daughter) moving before she was born. The title also hints at the undercurrents of anxiety, fear and conflicting emotions and tensions running throughout my life during this period.
Each image charts a particular moment and reflection on this ever-shifting and unfinished emotional journey. A story of many layers and themes using images, dried pressed flowers, and hand-made Japanese papers to translate this inner cosmos. I set up a home studio in my apartment in Paris for the self portraits during my pregnancy and pictures of Ella as a newborn baby.
The final artwork was produced in my home studio. The final selection of images were printed (using a professional printer) on fine-art hand-made Awagami paper. The fine art prints were then mounted on custom made oak frames. This process of two dimensional work, bringing together my passion for photography, flowers and paper to create collages is something special that emerged from this time. This work has been selected and published by French publishing house Filigranes Éditions (a collective edition Punctum 2). A selection of the final framed artwork were exhibited at the Gallery 8 Arles.
