Hirst Uses Real Butterflies On Lance Armstrong Tour De France Bike

Artist Damien Hirst has used the bodies of real butterflies on the frame of a Trek bikes for Lance Armstrong’s final stretch of the Tour De France 09. He spread the butterflies across the bike’s frame and onto the rims. The artist comments:

“Lance is an inspiration to many people on many levels. Bono first approached me about the bike and described Lance to me as ‘the greatest sportsman the world has ever known after Ali!’ It was a great opportunity to work with someone I admire and create the bike — something I’ve never done before. The technical problems were immense, as I wanted to use real butterflies and not just pictures of butterflies, because I wanted it to shimmer when the light catches it like only real butterflies do, and we were trying not to add any extra weight to the bike. Doing something crazy like this is ultimately about transportation and not simply transport, and what Lance does when he rides it is the same thing. I think Lance loves it.”

The bike is part of a series of STAGES art bikes that Lance Armstrong has ridden in the race – all of which will be auctioned off for charity in October in New York.

UPDATE: Images of Armstrong with his Butterfly bike:

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STAGES Trek