Space Alien Butterfly

The Space Alien Butterfly is a hybrid, one-of-a-kind giant puppet created by Toni Mikulka-Chang in 2023 by combining and rescuing elements from two pre-existing giant puppets and transforming them into a single, entirely new character. This “puppet mash-up” represents a process of creative reuse, reinvention, and restoration—giving new life to materials and forms that might otherwise have been discarded.

The result is a playful, slightly surreal creature that feels both otherworldly and familiar, blending insect, alien, and storybook influences into a single large-scale performance puppet.

Materials & Construction

The Space Alien Butterfly is built entirely from recycled and repurposed materials:

• Head: Hand-sculpted papier-mâché
  
  

• Body: Recycled and rebuilt puppet structure
  
  

• Frame: Wooden internal frame mounted to a backpack harness for one-person operation
  
  

• Finish: Restored, reinforced, and repainted as part of the 2023 transformation
  
  

This construction creates a sturdy, balanced, and wearable giant puppet that can be comfortably operated by a single performer.

Size & Presence

• Height: Approximately 8 feet tall
  
  

• Wingspan: Approximately 8 feet wide
  
  

The Space Alien Butterfly is designed to be highly visible in parades, festivals, and outdoor performances while remaining lightweight and maneuverable for one-person operation using its backpack-supported frame.

Story & Purpose

This puppet is a celebration of creative reuse and transformation. By merging two rescued puppets into a single new being, the Space Alien Butterfly embodies the idea that nothing is ever truly finished—only evolving.

It fits naturally into the Giant Puppets Save the World collection as both a performance character and a visual symbol of upcycling, imagination, and playful world-building.

A Living Performance Puppet

Like all works in the Giant Puppets Save the World collection, the Space Alien Butterfly is not a static sculpture. It is a working, wearable performance puppet—designed to be carried, animated, and experienced in motion in shared public spaces.