A PAPER sculpture honed from a tatty reference book by an anonymous sculptor as part of a headline-grabbing series will tour the country to fire the imagination of artists in every corner of Scotland.
The Butterflies, which depicts the delicate creatures fluttering out of a book, will begin its journey at Edinburgh Napier University’s War Poets Collection in the week that the country remembers those who fell in the Great War 100 years ago.
The place where acclaimed war poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon met has been chosen as the first venue to display the sculpture, made by an anonymous female artist.
The Butterflies is a later addition to a series of 10 sculptures created from old books which hit the headlines after being discovered at cultural locations in Edinburgh in 2011. The sculptures were accompanied by gift labels in which the unknown artist spoke about the power of literacy and argued against cuts to arts funding.
The sculptures toured Scotland in late 2012, and in the months that followed the artist continued to preserve her anonymity while creating a series of new works.
Earlier this year the sculpture depicting butterflies flying out of an open book was donated to the Macmillan cancer charity. It was bought at auction by the family of entrepreneur and part-time Edinburgh Napier University lecturer Colin Mackenzie, who own the city’s Movie Rooms and Hi-Fi Corner.
Dr Mackenzie has now generously loaned the sculpture to the War Poets Collection, where it will remain on display throughout November before touring venues across Scotland.
He said: “The idea of the book sculptures has not only intrigued me but also hundreds of thousands of people. It is not just that these sculptures are simply wonderful pieces of art but that they are an enigma within an enigma.
“I believe that these works of art, which have stirred so much public interest, have the ability to inspire others and that’s why I’m so keen that The Butterflies is seen by as wide an audience as possible. I hope their journey will include students, children and people in remote rural districts, city areas and in unusual locations throughout Scotland.
“Having the ability to potentially inspire others was one of the key drivers in buying this unique piece when it became available at a charity auction. The story is wonderful, the art amazing.”
Details of The Butterflies’ onward journey are still being finalised, but the sculpture will go on display at the BBC’s Pacific Quay HQ in Glasgow in December, the Scottish Parliament in the last week of April and at other venues including Stromness Library in Orkney and Aberdeen City Library. It will also be shown at Sir Walter Scott’s home, Abbotsford House, in August 2015 – the month of his birthday.
Dates will be confirmed on www.facebook.com/butterfliesonthemove
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
