An Accidental Archive: Butterflies, Nostalgia and Shifting Baselines by Ruth Power

This installation combines vintage cigarette cards depicting Irish butterflies from the 1920s and 1930s with hand-made ceramic frames finished in 22k gold lustre. Originally produced as promotional items for cigarette smokers, the cards were designed to advertise and sell tobacco. Designed for commerce, they also functioned as miniature field guides, introducing people to the butterflies of gardens, meadows, woodlands and hedgerows.

What began as a marketing tool has since evolved into an accidental archive, preserving evidence not only of species and landscapes, but of how people learned about, valued and encountered the natural world. The texts printed on the reverse record observations of abundance, behaviour and distribution, providing a snapshot of ecological conditions a century ago. While some species were already scarce, others that are now rare were described as common and widespread. Together, the cards preserve a unique record of changing butterfly populations, shifting distributions and everyday acts of noticing.

Production of these card series ceased during the Second World War. The decades that followed saw widespread agricultural intensification, habitat loss, drainage, monoculture farming and increasing reliance on synthetic pesticides and herbicides such as DDT and 2,4-D, reshaping ecosystems across Europe and contributing to the decline of many insect species.

The work explores shifting baseline syndrome: the tendency for each generation to accept the natural world it inherits as normal. As species decline and landscapes change, memories of previous abundance gradually fade. By revisiting and updating these historical objects, the installation continues a conversation about ecological change that began when the cards were first written.

Inspired by both museum displays and Mexican nichos (small devotional shrines traditionally used to house religious figures, photographs and treasured objects), the ceramic frames transform mass-produced cards into contemporary relics. The installation creates a space for both observation and reflection, inviting viewers to consider the butterflies not only as species, but also as memories, cultural symbols and reminders of a changing relationship with the natural world. Through a series of butterfly case studies comparing historical observations with their status in Ireland today, the work seeks to unshift the baseline while celebrating the possibility of recovery.