Butterfly on the Sun (2022) is a monumental ceiling installation (1800 × 1400 cm) exhibited at the Changwon Sculpture Biennale in Seongsan Art Hall, Korea, under the theme Channel: Particle Wave Duality.

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Composed of 99 sheets of UV-resistant plastic printed with UV-resistant ink, the work adapts the Maunder Butterfly Diagram—a historic plot of sunspot positions and sizes across solar cycles—into a symmetrical, wing-like form suspended overhead. Sunspots, planet-sized dark regions on the Sun's photosphere (cooler at 3,800–4,300 K than the average 5,800 K), arise from twisted magnetic fields produced by the solar dynamo and differential rotation (faster at the equator than poles). The butterfly pattern emerges as activity peaks at mid-latitudes during solar maximum, shifting toward the equator at minimum.

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Developed in consultation with astrophysicist David Hathaway (former head of Solar Physics at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center), the installation draws from his updated sunspot chart (140 years of data) and focuses on Solar Cycle 20 (1964–1980), during which the artist was born. Installed overnight on the atrium's glass ceiling, the piece revealed its full form as sunlight filtered through on opening day, creating an immersive dialogue between cosmic cycles and human perception.

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The work explores light-matter interactions at art-science intersections, symbolizing how solar activity influences Earth (space weather, flares) while echoing the poetic symmetry of natural phenomena. It transforms scientific data into a contemplative ceiling, inviting viewers to contemplate the Sun's rhythmic, butterfly-like behavior from below.

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Full Project Details: Butterflies on the Sun