Night Flight
Produced in collaboration with Andy Holtin, Night Flight, presents an illuminated, physical, and interactive animation of a butterfly in flight across the meadow of Ladew Gardens. The butterfly, perennial symbol of the gardens and the work of the naturalists at Ladew, is captured in sequential stages of flight emanating from the viewer across the fields. The insect represented is the Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton), the official state insect of Maryland. Despite this official designation, populations of the Baltimore Checkerspot in Maryland have declined significantly due to loss of the wetland habitats in which they thrive. Currently this butterfly is only to be found in a handful of sites at the northwest periphery of the state. This projects aims to highlight that loss by placing the Checkerspot once again in the gardens at Ladew.