Göran Hägg
BUTTERFLY
A gigantic, bright-yellow butterfly has settled among the rocks at Pilane. This sculpture Butterfly by Göran Hägg is a larger-than-life version of a monarch. Like a surviving species from the past, the butterfly stands more than two metres tall and appears both mighty and fragile.
The monarch is known for its long migrations and its phenomenal ability to find its way. In autumn, the young butterflies gather in huge flocks and fly south to the place their mothers came from in the spring, mainly California and Mexico. The most remarkable thing is that they can find that particular spot without ever having been there. Despite many ongoing studies, the monarch’s navigational capacity is still an enigma to scientists and a constant source of inspiration for writers of fiction and artists. On account of its metamorphoses, the butterfly has become a symbol of new beginnings on several levels. It is associated with rebirth, change and voyages of learning. At Pilane, Hägg’s Butterfly is a companion piece to the aeroplanes in the hangar. Nature’s own expert navigators, alongside the pilots and their flying machines.
Göran Hägg, born in 1949, studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He has had numerous exhibitions over the years, in Sweden and abroad. Hägg has created many public works of art, including for the Post Office terminal in Årsta and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg. He is represented in the collections of Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Gothenburg Art Museum in Gothenburg, Borås Museum of Modern Art, and other art institutions.