Rebecca Horn
Butterfly Machine, 1989
Metal, wire, butterflies
88.9 x 38.1 x 12.7 cm | 35 x 15 x 5 in
(RHOR/GTS 203)
In Rebecca Horn’s Butterfly Machine, two ultramarine blue butterflies are mounted on slender rods. Powered by a motor at their base, the rods’ rhythmic movement causes the butterflies to vibrate, as if trembling. This early kinetic work from 1989 marks an important period in Horn’s oeuvre characterized by her exploration of the combination of machines and animals in kinetic sculpture. Many of her iconic works, such as Peacock Machine (1982) and The Kiss of the Rhinoceros (1989), were created during this time.
The butterfly itself—a symbol of metamorphosis, transformation, and fragility—is a recurring motif in Horn’s practice, appearing across various media including drawings, film, sculpture, and large-scale installations. In Butterfly Machine, its delicate, machine-driven oscillation evokes a poetic tension between intimacy and distance, themes central to Horn’s visual language.
