The Prague landmark will be adorned by giant butterflies that flap their wings and glow at night when it reopens later this spring following renovations.
The famous building, known as Máj, was built in the 1970s and used to house one of the few department stores in Czechoslovakia under Communism. In 2007, the boxy glass and steel structure became one of the few post-war buildings to be declared a cultural monument.
Builders over the weekend installed two butterfly sculptures on the facade of Prague’s Máj Národní building ahead of the department store’s reopening in June. The installations, created by renowned artist David Černý, show butterfly wings affixed to two purple-blue World War II fighter plane models.
The sculptures, commissioned by Amadeus Real Estate, pay tribute to Czechoslovak fighter pilots who served with the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. “Butterflies symbolize peace, and the Spitfire is a weapon; a symbol of war. There is a fine line between peace and war, and current global events make this appeal even stronger,” explained Martin Klán, a member of the Amadeus board of directors.