
Artist Angela Aujla
Prompt Chosen: The Secret Life of Butterflies
Title of work: The Secret Life of Butterflies
What inspired you to choose this prompt?
In this piece I used digital collage and embellishment. On the top left panel we see a dangling array of butterflies at every stage of the life cycle, and underneath I’ve created a graphic pattern using a cocoon. I emphasize the idea of metamorphosis which holds its own secrets, with each stage of butterfly development completely disguising and distorting the final emergent form. I used various levels of transparency to give a ghostlike aura of mystery and a sense history and the of passing time.
On the right side, I further play with the theme of the Secret Life of Butterflies by artistically depicting butterfly vision, they see in UV light, with blurry vision. The image in the circle is human vision, and the image outside the circle is my artistic depiction of butterfly vision.
Angela Aujla
Angela Aujla is a local visual artist whose vibrant artwork explores the interplay of history, culture, and community. She is fascinated by the ways that natural and material objects transmit culture and come to carry meaning, memory, and nostalgia. Angela’s work spans multiple mediums, including illustration, collage, embellished photography, textile, LED illuminated art, and mixed media installations.
Alongside her practice as a professional visual artist, Angela serves on the MacLaren Art Centre’s board of directors, and she is a Liberal Arts professor at Georgian College where she teaches various courses including Visual Culture and Anthropology.
Since 2019, Angela has created 19 public art projects in Toronto, Vancouver, Surrey, Hamilton, Burlington, Barrie, Innisfil, Midland, and Oro-Medonte. Her work has been featured in galleries and publications locally and internationally. She recently had the pleasure of illustrating an animated short for Historica Canada, which was shortlisted for a prestigious Rockie Award at the Banff World Media Festival. A book featuring Angela’s latest solo art exhibitions, “My Grandmother’s Dress” & “Lessons Learned”, will be published later this year.