The Porsche 917 is considered one of the most iconic race cars ever to be built by the manufacturer. It began the winning streak for the German auto giant at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the car solidified its stature in automotive history. Now, bringing that illustrious moment from time in the form of art is Heidi Mraz as part of her latest artwork. It's called "Aerodynamics by Entomology" and it's made entirely out of paper insects showcasing the Porsche 917. Mraz says her 4x6-foot artwork is inspired by the challenges involved in making the race car.
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The car on canvas is made out of paper butterflies and brings a vibrant look. But why butterflies? Mraz says there's a parallel correlation between the metamorphosis involved in the development of butterflies and the 917's beginnings.
The Porsche 917 race car won the automaker their first-ever victory in Le Mans
"From an unstable monster to an immortal race car," that's the story of the 917's legendary success in motorsport.
Featuring in the artwork is the Porsche 917Ks with the 917-022 chassis. That's the same 917 which started in the 1971 film "Le Mans" with the icon Stever McQueen and carried the iconic Gulf livery, which was synonymous with Porsche in that era.
Mraz has used about 1,000 paper butterflies and other insects in the Gulf's blue and orange livery. All the paper elements are hand-cut, placed and pinned together in order to bring a multi-layered effect to the artwork. Mraz says she chose the 917-022 chassis for the portrait because of its iconic status.
She also had a chance to see the car in person during the 70th Annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. That gave her the opportunity to collect more material for the artwork, adding another level of depth to her piece.
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Some of Heidi Mraz's other artworks include the famed Porsche 906 portrait
Mraz specialises in creating incredible artworks inspired by automotive history. Her previous projects include a 4x6 portrait of a famed Porsche 906 race car, chassis number 906-134. There have also been artworks based on the Chevrolet Corvette, a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, Ferrari 250 GTO, Jaguar E-Type, Lincoln Zephyr V-12 and so many more.
