Artwork Appreciation
Mothman is a sculpture by the artist Daniel Lee that combines the forms of the human body and the moth with 3D printing technology. The entire work is covered with gold leaf, which suggests the indestructibility of the diamond, but it was also the artist’s “counterattack” against the out-of-control pandemic, as he hoped for the ability to create a life form with antibodies. In the general view, moths are different from butterflies, which symbolize beauty. Moths have thick, hairy bodies and are usually nocturnal, so they remind people of negative things like darkness, ghosts, and other worlds. They’re creatures that Lee has disliked since his childhood. On the other hand, moths symbolize the pursuit of light. Although it usually ends in tragedy for the moth, it is still awe-inspiring. Daniel Lee’s combination of the human and moth forms, on the one hand, symbolizes the coronavirus’s ability to “deform” and “mutate,” and on the other hand, expresses his hope to bring positive energy to the world by presenting something that comes from darkness in its pursuit of light.