Mariposa Machismo Statement
Artist: Sabra Booth
Web Portfolio: home.earthlink.net/~sabra
booth

Mariposa
Machismo is a project involving the butterfly phenomena that occurred in South Texas in the summer and fall of 2006. The multitude of brown snout-nosed butterflies was generated by the unusual climate circumstances of extreme drought followed by torrential rains. Global warming was most likely a contributing factor. Curiously, 95% of them were male.1 It's ironic in a state that does not exactly support alternative lifestyles2; millions of male butterflies were flitting and flirting everywhere. The term “Mariposa” is also street lingo for homosexual in Mexico.3 The wall installation documents this unusual phenomena while examining the historical and current social implications of male butterfly bonding. Butterflies have also typically been associated with the ideals of femininity in the West.4 The butterflies are rendered on MDF board and suede paper, that has been rubbed with copper powder, and silkscreened using sand for a textural effect. Mariposa Machismo offers an enlightened glimpse into the little before known underground culture of brown snout-nosed butterflies. This project continues an ongoing discourse in my work concerning the intersections of nature, myth, and identity.
Bibliography

1Big-Nosed
Butterflies Invade South Texas, John Larson, NBC Nightly News, Aug. 3, 2006.
2www.pinkdome.com


3Butterflies
Will Burn: Prosecuting Sodomites in Early Modern
Spain and Mexico by Federico Garza Carvajal, University of Texas Press, 2003.

4Funk and Wagnels Encyclopedia, Ronald A. Gagliardi
edited by Dexter Sear.

Natural forms and processes have always been a principal source of inspiration for my work. My way of mark making is precise even obsessive. I balance tight lines with gestural marks that are unexpected, more subconscious in nature. Forms are magnified and cropped until they become otherwordly. In Finland, I have been studying the rich heritage of design. This research has led me to further simplify forms and edit compositions to only the essentials. Building many transcluscent layers is also a part of my aesthetic as demonstrated by the mushroom or sieni mixed media pieces, which use bees wax to add aromas and tactility to the work. These pieces were on display at the Fulbright Center in Helsinki.
As well as these smaller more intimate works, I have most recently created very large prints and drawings used for an installation project at the Nelimarkka Museo in Alajärvi, Finland. I have an interest in myths and fantastic tales that also influence my ideas. These works are based on stories of the vironsusi, Finnish werewolf, and my own experiences of the Finnish woods.

These are small mixed media works based on my sketches made throughout Europe. Usually I was in transit on a train, bus, plane, or ferry, sometimes just sitting in a cafe.