Butterfly Arcade mural in the exhibition, Shady Rest, curated by Betsy Hunt and Zach Moser in 2017 at Prove Gallery, Duluth MN. Butterfly Arcade was an investigation why do we like or dislike specific visuals? Personally, I chose a butterfly because I’ve had mixed opinions about the insect. Often, I have questioned how the butterfly is interpreted drastically differently depending on if the image is a tattoo, a protest sign, or a glittery t-shirt. How does the symbol of a butterfly transform depending on context?

While thinking about this mural, my inspiration came from the book, Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, by Carl Wilson. Although the book focuses on why people around the world either love or hate Celine Dion’s music, I found it captivating and relatable to visual art and everyday choices. Wilson questions why we have likes and dislikes and how they are formed, specifically with our auditory and visual senses. I chose to make abstract butterflies that repeated simple shapes and bright colors to investigate my own likes and dislikes of the insect and symbol of the butterfly.