Spectacular Swarms of Cyanotype-Printed Butterflies Form Urban Guerrilla Art Installations

Artist <a href="http://www.tashalewis.info/" target="_blank">Tasha Lewis</a> has traveled far and wide across the US installing her stunning blue butterfly swarms in the urban landscape. The installations are formed of hundreds of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotype" target="_blank">cyanotype</a> butterflies that have been printed onto cotton. Using powerful magnets placed within the fabric, each one is then placed onto metallic surfaces in a variety of patterns to create a swirling formation of colorful creatures.

Lewis takes care not to permanently affect the environment, and each of the blue cotton prints can be removed.

The work creates a dazzling <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/temporary-art/" target="_blank">intervention into the landscape</a>

According to the artist, the works are linked to the scientific use of cyanotype printing, which was a popular technique for image-making in the beginning of last century.

As a scientific method for documenting species, the cyanotype representation acts as as a stand in for the real thing

Whereas Lewis’s pieces bring vibrant scatterings of nature and its form into otherwise drab urban settings.

More of Lewis' work can be viewed on her<a href="http://www.tashalewis.info/" target="_blank">website</a>