Echoes of the butterfly

Echoes of the Butterfly is a multi-sensory interactive installation that fuses ecological narrative with tangible design. It draws inspiration from the Large Blue Butterfly of the UK—a species that once quietly disappeared from the natural world, only to re-emerge through the interplay of human care and nature’s resilience.

The work is built on a dual-Arduino system featuring two parts: a historical visualization controlled by a sliding potentiometer displays population shifts through synchronized LEDs, light bars, sound and OLED text; a future interaction mode invites participants to simulate environmental choices using a pesticide dial and a moisture sensor. The motions—or stillness—of five symbolic butterflies reflect the system’s real-time ecological response.

Echoes of the Butterfly is not just a tribute to what was lost,
but a quiet invitation to imagine what could still be saved.
In every flicker of light and flap of wings,
the work asks: how will we choose to echo in the world we share?

The piece also echoes the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in biodiversity conservation and environmentally responsible interaction, using design as a poetic call toward real-world ecological awareness.