Spitfire Butterfly Statues – the newest statues by artist David Cerny (2024)

The Spitfire Butterflies are the newest installation sculptures by David Cerny. They are two giant butterflies with bodies made from the Second World War spitfire planes that were flown by Czech pilots for the British Army – RAF.

I’ve seen these statues being lifted up to the side of the newly restored Maj department store and secured by a specially trained mountaineer climbers on each side of the building. The butterfly wings very slowly move and you can see them from far away – especially from Narodni Trida Street.

I was lucky enough to be in the crowd when David Cerny was interviewed by the Czech television about them after he has been listening to people’s feedback around them.

How were the Spitfire Butterflies Statues made

The butterflies are a pair of iron sculptures, that are designed to move their wings and light up at night.

The entire project from the drawing board to placing the planes on the building took four years. Just calculating the wings size, which is 10 metres, weight and the mechanism to move them took about a year and a half to complete.

On the day of the installation on the 18th of May 2024, the trams and traffic was diverted from Narodni and Spalena Street in front of the building and two giant cranes lifted the sculptures and the team of skilled mounteneers helped to secure them in place. The butterflies started to move on the 22nd of May 2024 in the evening.

What is the meaning behind the Spitfire Butterflies ?

The installation is a tribute to the Czechoslovak fighter pilots who served in the British army, in the RAF. In David Cerny’s own words, the reason, why they are displayed on Máj Department Store is because he was approached by the owner to make an instalation for the building.

Whilst, Cerny might have felt that his sculptures suited the place perfectly, there is no denying that originally these statues were planned for the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Cerny’s third spitfire butterfly sculpture is still planed to be installed there in the future.

This almost feels like, the scupltures were commissioned by somebody else and last minute something happened which allowed Cerny to pull two sculptures out of the original aggreement and offer them to the Maj owners – but of course, that’s just a wild guess…

When the Maj shopping centre re-opens again, there will be also 395 floor tiles that will be put together in a shape of planes to symbolise the number of Czech pilots flying during the Second World War in the British Army. I like that this will tie in with the symbolism of the Spitfire Butterflies, so they won’t feel that random as a decoration for the building.

When it’s the best time to see the moving butterflies?

You can see the statues any time – they are particularly nice in the afternoon sun and since they light up at night, you can a lovely view any time of the day.

Contraversy behind the David Cerny newest statues

Not everyone was happy that the sculptures were going to be displayed on the Maj building.

The Club for Old Prague stated that the design shows signs of typical kitsch art and its straightforwardly appealing symbolism meant to fascinate people while also evoking emotion as a poignant reminder of the Czechoslovak pilots.

There are even some voices, that have suggested that Cerny’s statues are no longer about art. And in the case of Máj Shopping Centre, this is doubly true. The developer needs advertising for the new shopping mall and David Černý needs the hype because, apart from tourists, no one is interested in his work anymore. Auch…

Cerny even had a bit of a barney with a TV presenter on a Czech television, who wasn’t too fond of his work and foul words fell on both sides.

Listening to the people’s reaction as they were walking by (and I was taking photos), reading comments and seing the results of public voting, the general public opinion is pretty much split in half for the statues and against them. Only time will tell, but the statues are already pulling in the crowds who are keen on taking photos and videos of the moving butterflies.

What I think is also important thing to bear in mind, is that Prague heritage conservationists have permitted the placement of the sculptures on Máj building innitially for one year only, after which the decision of permanent placement will take place.

The Maj Department Store – where the Butterfly Statues are placed

As you are looking at the new Spitfire Butterflies statues, you might be also wondering what is the building underneath it and why there is so much fuss about it being re-open.

It is the Maj Department Store, which was originally built on the site of the neo-Gothic Šlik Palace. It was based on the design by Miroslav Masák, John Eisler, and Martin Rajniš from the Liberec studio SIAL, which was founded in 1968 by Karel Hubáček, the creator of the Ještěd transmitter tower.

Máj opened to customers on April 21, 1975 under the name Prior 02, but we always called it ‘Máj’ – May. I remember we always used to do our Christmas Gifts shopping and I still enjoyed shopping there when I was growing up.

In 2006, the Ministry of Culture declared the building a cultural monument. The dispute over the heritage protection of Máj has stirred public debate on whether heritage protection should be extended not only to historical buildings but also to significant modern structures that the public does not perceive as historic monuments.

The building has been under reconstruction since May 2022 and it is expected to reopen to customers on Monday, June 24 2024. I’m looking forward to revisit again, because the new design ment get back to the original style and design, including the glass roof cafeteria on the top floor and also a new open air teracce with trees, plants and great view of Prague.

Location & How to get to the Spitfire Butterflies Statues

Location: The Maj Department Store – Narodni Trida, Prague 1 (tram 22, 42, 9, 3 etc or underground ‘Narodni Trida’ on line B).

Underground (metro) line B, stop Narodni Trida or tram no. 2, 9, 18, 22, stop Narodni Trida

When you get off, just walk out on to the Narodni Trida and you will be able to see the butterfly on the building. The best view is from accross the road, where you can see the corner of Maj shopping centre and both butterflies at the same time.

This blog post was originally written on 29 May 2024 and last updated on 29 May 2024

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