Butterflies on Boughs

An Ode to Beauty & Abundance

A kaleidoscope of butterflies in bold and vivid colours, perched atop beautifully sculptured boughs – symbolic of beauty and abundance, joy and happiness, life and zest.

Historical Background

Throughout the glorious era of Chinese dynasties, emperors, rulers and the wealthy were known to throw lavish parties to celebrate special occasions. Decorations used to adorn those celebrations often depicted a swarm of colourful butterflies as can often be seen on ancient paintings and ceramic works. Not only are they a visually stunning sight, butterflies are also regarded as harbingers of bountiful harvest. Fluttering butterflies pollinate blossoms on fruit trees which in turn lead to bumper harvests; and hence their association with abundance and prosperity.

Blessings and Bountiful Harvests

Immortalised in metal, every Bough sculpture with a profusion of colourful butterflies represent eternal spring and everlasting prosperity. When prominently displayed, these sculptures imbues a vitality and beauty into homes, offices and wherever they are displayed. Butterflies captured in a pose of stillness speak eloquently of joy, hope and the promise of success.

The Process

After four years of working on the boughs, after countless moulds,  experiments and prototypes, the Huangs have achieved world class standards for this series. Sections of suitable boughs with their beautiful knots and grains are carefully selected, cut and joined to other sections. The boughs are then composed and creatively assembled to display their most expressive character and forms before being moulded and recast in solid aluminium and thereafter given the final finishing.  The boughs are finally ready.

To give variety, various shapes of a dozen butterflies in six different sizes are laser-cut and then welded, primed and painted in a burst of vivid colours. The butterflies in their full regalia are then mounted onto the ready boughs.

Composition

To the artist, no part of a sculpture is of secondary importance. Every component matters to the entire creation. Each sculpture of Butterflies on Boughs is unique in composition, a one-off original. The designs on the each butterfly is executed spontaneously, each different from the other. Every piece a masterpiece.

Sizes and Customisation

The boughs vary in length from 1.3 metres to 2.39 metres and can be customised to a collector’s requirement and preferred colour scheme. They can be wall mounted horizontally or floor mounted vertically. For floor mounted compositions, it is possible to have multiple boughs or saplings.

Medium

All Boughs and Twigs  are cast in solid aluminium and polished to stainless steel finish. Butterflies are laser-cut from stainless steel sheets.