Mo Ganji: Siberian Brown / Pallas‘ Heath | Sibirischer Braunfalter (Pallas-Heidefalter) | Triphysa phryne | No. 198/250 from work group 8/99

Mo Ganji turns his attention to the Siberian brown / Pallas’ heath — a grassland butterfly inhabiting cool, open meadows and forest edges — by letting the single line move toward essence rather than pattern or delicacy. The line gathers the being into a reduced coherence, setting aside wing markings and seasonal appearance so that presence can surface without ornament. In Ganji’s understanding, the line does not belong to the butterfly alone; it remains open, reminding us that what we identify as a species is also a conceptual framing of something more fluid.

Coenonympha hero is listed as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. The species occurs across parts of northern and eastern Europe and into Siberia, but its distribution has become increasingly fragmented. Many regional populations have declined sharply or disappeared altogether, particularly in Central and Western Europe.

The principal threats include loss of traditionally managed grasslands, drainage of wetlands, afforestation, agricultural intensification, and the abandonment of low-intensity mowing and grazing. Because the butterfly depends on specific grasses and stable open habitats, even subtle changes in land use can disrupt its life cycle. Declines often go unnoticed due to the species’ small size and quiet presence.

Ganji’s single line opens a space in which the butterfly can be encountered beyond fragility or decoration. It allows attention to rest on a life bound to continuity of land use and rhythm, suggesting how disappearance often follows not from sudden destruction, but from the slow erosion of practices that once allowed such beings to persist unnoticed alongside us.