One in a Billion
One in a Billion

Space has always fascinated me, it engages with my inquisitive mind, like I suppose it has done since we’ve been on this planet. It has inspired wonder, mythology and science since the days when the only tools humans had to look on it were their eyes. Now it seems the more that we discover the more awe it has to offer and we’re searching within it for the answers to many of the important questions we have about our own existence.
My fascination with it however has also always been a deeply emotional one, like somehow despite so much of it being on an inconceivable scale, I’m somehow connected to it and it somehow reflects my emotions. Often when I think about it I can feel an overwhelming sense of vulnerability and isolation even utter insignificance when faced with its enormity
“Look again at that pale blue dot… every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam”
Carl Sagan
But think again and it can engender emotions of importance, uniqueness and potential, good fortune to think that given its enormity and the sheer improbability of us being here that somehow we are, and we actually are aware of it and we should be thankful that somehow it gave birth to us.
“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself”
Carl Sagan
The Milky Way, our home galaxy is home to up to an estimated 400 billion stars. One in a Billion comprises of 28 perfectly preserved butterfly and insect specimen with 400 stars plus planets, satellites, moons and other “space-stuff”!
At over 120cm wide, this is the largest dissectology piece Fiona has created (as of July 2022) and would be a stunning addition to anyones collection.
28 specimen including Morpho Aega, Menelaus, Achilles, Sulkowskyi and Polyphemus along with many Swallowtail Papilio and even a Neurobasis Kaupi damselfly! (full list available on request)
Many of my specimens come from historical collections, others through from breeding and conservation projects (read more here).
Available for limited exhibitions and on commission, email me on hello@fionaparkinson.com for more details