butterfly effect
Folded paper butterflies suspended on fishing line, tacked to drywall, projection and audio.
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is defined as the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic system can result in massive changes in a later state. In this installation, the iconography of Edward Lorenz’s butterfly effect, in juxtaposition with up-cycled materials, imagines the impact of religious and scientific institutions on the narrative and path of space, mind and body.
The work examines the chaotic collision of the theological and secular worlds in direct observation of environment and perceptions of the queer body. This non physical site engages Miwon Kwon’s Notes on Site Specificity, in particular, their argument to “leave behind the nostalgic notions of a site as being essentially bound to the physical and empirical realities of a place.” Instead, we must engage an idea of site in synch with “the prevalent description of contemporary life as a network of unanchored flows.”
In this confluence of infinite places and endless paths, there is chaos and an overwhelming sense of anxiety, but there is also beauty and great opportunity for personal awareness. The work is contextualized by the works of minimalist Robert Irwin and his attention to constructing space and light, the imaginative and immersive nature of digital pioneers like teamLab, the texture development of painter Anselm Kiefer, as well as the individual craft and motif driven works of Tasha Lewis.
Butterfly effect, 2021
Folded paper butterflies suspended tacked to drywall, existing toilet.
Take me to church.
procession, 2021
Folded paper, plastic butterflies adhered to canvas. Cardboard, acrylic.
The first piece in the Butterfly Effect theory, New Testament No. 1 was an exploratory process-driven creation. From the pages of religious texts, those whose doctrine has determined the society in which we operate, rises a composition of flight. Where are we goin? Why are we going there? Who decides our path?
New Testament no.1, 2021
1Folded paper butterflies adhered to canvas. Cardboard, paper, recycled materials, acrylic.
In an era of medical contact tracing, when do we start tracing the destruction of our world? Who determined this path we are barreling down? Do I have the agency to determine my impact on the world or is it predetermined for me?
eden is burning, 2021
Folded paper butterflies adhered to canvas. Oil paint, paper.
The most personal of the three original compositions in Butterfly Effect, this piece questions the root of perceptions of self. Who decides how I feel? Do I? Does a god? Is it Adam carved in marble? What is the path.
where did my body come from, 2021
Butterfly Effect (2021) was Keaton’s final undergraduate installation at Western Washington University.