METAMORPHOSEN
The butterfly goes through four stages of development: growing in the egg, hatching as a caterpillar, pupating and finally emerging from the cocoon as a fully grown, winged animal. This transformation is known as metamorphosis. Every year, the Palmengarten in Frankfurt obtains pupae for its flower and butterfly house from a sustainable breeding centre in Costa Rica. Visitors can patiently watch the birth of a butterfly in a chrysalis box. At an unpredictable time, the chrysalis shell bursts open and the finished butterfly slowly crawls out.
Sound artist Lasse-Marc Riek literally lends an ear to the fascinating natural phenomenon of butterfly metamorphosis. His sound composition "METAMORPHOSEN" gives visitors an "ear view" into the short life of the delicate insect. Riek recorded the sounds that butterflies make during their life stages using various sound recording systems in the House of Flowers and Butterflies. Outside the butterfly season, his recordings transform the Butterfly House into a walk-in listening station where you can listen to the butterflies in an extraordinary sound art experience. (Translated from the original text by Dr. Nadja Tomoum)
Many thanks to SLInBio, Frankfurt am Main, the Palmengarten team and, of course, the butterflies!
The work will be presented as a fixed media installation in the Schmetterlingshaus as part of the exhibition "Verspielt? - Roulette mit der Insekten- und Pflanzenwelt" at the Palmengarten, Frankfurt/M. from 18 July to 6 October 2024.
Interview: Nature meets Art with Lasse-Marc Riek - Podcast Special #4, Palmengarten Frankfurt. In conversation with Patricia Germandi (Palmengarten) Film by Johannes Braun (Palmengarten) 12 min. (German)
Feature: How do butterflies sound? (German) Film by Florian Lumeau, hr Fernsehen (Currently not available)