Butterfly Hand (v.1)

oil on panel, 36" x 24"

The body (of the butterfly) is a chasm in the hand, a spasm of fluttering, suffering from which beauty comes. It is the center of a flower, a nail in the palm, a stem, the crucifixion.

The butterfly is for people who have gone and who also stay.

The butterfly-hand is my changing self, breaking and re-forming, simultaneously fractured and whole.

Note: the butterfly is based on the Blue Metalmark, Lasai Sula (U.S.).