PALE and willowy, Russia-born artist Nathalia Edenmont looks like she couldn't hurt a fly.

But the controversial artist has actually killed cats, mice, chickens and rabbits for her surreal still life photographs, angering animal rights activists in several countries.

The 38-year old is in Singapore for a solo exhibition, Flying Colours, in Gallery Eighty in Teck Lim Road in Chinatown. The exhibition will run till March 29.

But she is showing work that is a lot less macabre. The images on show come mostly from her Butterfly series of photographs, created using the wings of dead butterflies she bought from a dealer.

The wings are arranged to look like leaves on a branch, flower petals or abstract landscapes.

Only one picture from her early work involving dead animals is on show: Janus, showing two rabbit heads on top of a U-shaped vase.

Prices for her artworks - which have a limited edition of six prints - range from $14,000 to $25,000.

Read the full story in Life! in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.