‘Swimming the Butterfly’ – Volume 21 of the Sidney Nolan Encyclopaedia Britannica Challenge
On receiving volume 21 I flicked through the pages, my mind flitting and flying from one subject and idea to another.
On receiving volume 21 I flicked through the pages, my mind flitting and flying from one subject and idea to another.
Eventually, it was the hot summer, and experiences arising out of it, that led me to my final creation. I have never been swimming as much as I have this year and my garden has attracted more butterflies than usual, including one of my favourites – the Peacock.
Skimming through the text I settled on a section headed ‘SWIMMING’ and read about the butterfly stroke. It led me to think of the phrase, ‘Swimming the Butterfly’ and the surreal connotations of combining butterfly and swimmer. It’s a racing form of the breast stroke, so I felt that it had to be organised in lanes across my book and I had to decide upon a winner … the butterfly that excites me the most – the Swallowtail.
