Courtesy photo
Photographer Benjamin Timpson will open the solo exhibition “Metamorphosis” at the Art Base in Basalt on Friday. The work constructs portraits of missing, murdered and abused Native American women out of butterfly wings.
A descendant of the Pueblo Indian Tribes, Timpson uses safe-sourced butterfly wings to create his portraits of Native American women, who are two-and-a-half times more likely to be raped or killed than any other women in the country.
“I am inspired by nature and feel compelled to tell the story of these women through the symbolic nature of the butterfly wing,” Timpson said in an exhibition announcement. “The butterfly represents metamorphosis, fragility and hope, and it is revered and respected by tribes of the American Southwest.”
Timpson researches victims and connects with family members to explain the project and intent of his work. Families share photographs that he uses for reference for the portraits. Timpson works on a light table to construct a portrait from butterfly wings. The portraits are encased in wooden frames and backlit to show the transmitted and reflective light qualities of each piece.
“It is my hope that this series brings awareness to a very important issue through beauty and change,” he said.
The gallery will host an opening reception Friday from 5 to 7 p.m.
Formerly the photography and new media studio coordinator at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Timpson specializes in interdisciplinary mediums including photography, painting and sculpture. He was awarded a Poynter Fellowship at Yale University in 2019 and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Recent exhibitions include a solo show at Colorado Mountain College in Aspen; the Allegany National Photography; the Alternative Processes exhibition at the SE Center for Photography in Greenville, South Carolina; and the Black and White exhibition at The Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins. He is a professor of photography at Arizona State University.