Evolutionary change: Papaions
Series of 8 drawings on paper: black ink and graphite
50 x 40 cm. each
2014
In the midst of the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, British scientists observed the famous case of evolution through natural selection in peppered moths (Biston betularia). These butterflies had to adapt to their environment to survive, and turned their light colouring into black so as to better camouflage themselves on the trees covered with factory soot. This type of genetic modification was the result of the changes in the environment brought about by pollution.
Starting from this idea, and taking an antique scientific illustration as a reference, this series of drawings shows fictitious examples of butterflies undergoing mutations in the coloration of their wings. These are imaginary and ironic cases of mimesis as a consequence of environmental impact that urban waste might generate on nature in our times.
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