I collect fallen branches in the forest and paint them partially white, creating dashed lines. I place these branches on the ground, forming paths that branch off and come to an end. I am dressed in white and carry a code on my back. When scanned with a smartphone, the code activates an augmented reality scene: butterfly wings, delicate and transparent, trembling in the air.
The intervention is an attempt to sketch one or more possible futures using exclusively the natural resources found on site. At the same time, the work evokes the idea of the butterfly effect: a minimal gesture, such as the beating of wings, can be enough to alter the future irreversibly.
The paint used on the branches is casein-based and biodegradable. The paths do not disappear with the first rain, but slowly fade over time, eventually erasing every trace of my intervention. The climate crisis requires immediate action: the time we allow to pass is not neutral, because the consequences of our actions do not vanish as easily as the marks we leave behind.
The wings I carry on my back do not transform me into a butterfly: they are a mediated, fragile image, dependent on technology. In its absence, the code remains a mute sign, enclosing an invisible and uncontrollable concept.
Would it nevertheless be possible to become friends with a butterfly?
“It is if you first become a part of nature. You suppress your presence as a human being, stay very still, and convince yourself that you are a tree or grass or a flower. It takes time, but once the butterfly lets its guard down, you can become friends quite naturally.” (Haruki Murakami, 1Q84)
© Maria Korporal, 2026
The intervention will take place in July 2026, as part of the land art project
L.A.P. A.R.T.
Rifugio forestale Cascina Tiole – Piancastagna Parco Naturale Regionale – Regione Piemonte, Italy
See also https://www.instagram.com/solarlapart/
In March 2026 I visited the Rifugio forestale Cascina Tiole, to see the place and to test the AR setup.
It worked perfectly, and you can see my butterflies fly around works in progress by other artists: “Seven ladders in the woods” and “Sangue verde”.