The Flutter Effect

From stillness to motion, from shadow to light—this work traces the quiet power of transformation that lives within us all. Inspired by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Nattakorn Choonhavan reflects on the human journey toward truth: the struggle to shed illusion, confront discomfort, and step into the unknown with courage.

 

At its heart, this work is about awakening. It honors those who question the realities they’ve inherited and dare to step beyond the familiar. Like moving from shadow into light, growth is often disorienting, but it carries the promise of freedom.

 

Through a series of sculptural works and photographs, the exhibition draws on the life cycle of a butterfly—egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly—as a symbolic framework for personal evolution. Each sculpture reflects a stage in this process: the spark of potential, the effort of becoming, the stillness of inner transformation, and finally, the emergence into flight. These stages mirror our own inner journeys—the moments when we are inspired, when we struggle, when we turn inward, and when we rise. Alongside the butterfly, other lifeforms—such as the leaf insect, which adapts by mirroring its environment—offer a quieter perspective on transformation. Here, camouflage becomes a form of wisdom: survival as a subtle act of becoming. Whether through bold metamorphosis or silent adaptation, the natural world reminds us that change takes many forms.

 

In this ongoing cycle, freedom is not an escape, but the grace of continual becoming. Within every stillness lies motion. Within every struggle, the possibility of wings.