Tags
art, bees, disease, environment, insects, nature, sculpture, toxicology
I am in the middle of making a new sculpture informed and inspired by research into declining bee populations. The work has been gestating for many months as I battled with the challenge of how to materialise the concept. My working title for the sculpture is Silent Wings.
Research
Research threads and articles relating to bees that you may find interesting.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/may/01/study-links-insecticide-invertebrate-die-off
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1202
http://www.chbr.org/Research/ProjectGenesis.aspx
http://qz.com/107970/scientists-discover-whats-killing-the-bees-and-its-worse-than-you-thought/
http://exploringtheinvisible.com/2013/07/27/bee-jewelled-found-dead-bees-and-copper-sulphate/
Other blogs posts about this issue:
Honey Trap 28 January 2013
Save the Buzzzz 4 May 2013
19 June 2013 and 19 August 2013
Why aren’t we worried enough about the bees? Are they too small and undramatic? Are they just the stuff of cartoons? The small, the tiny and the miniature enchant us. They don’t scare us, or rip up our lives and possessions, not like floods, storms, volcanoes or massive smog does. Maybe we can’t imagine that their importance is possibly bigger in impact, than that of changing climate, despite their tiny size. We anthropomorphise them and create sweet narratives around them instead.
Interesting angle on the issue Alex, although I do think that many people are scared of bees because of their sting, and to a small number of people the sting can be life-threatening. Your focus on the scale of the creature seems pertinent and I would add that generally there is little thought to how the bees perform a vital function for us in the great web of life – is size a part of that problem? A holistic perspective embracing the interconnectedness of everything is not appreciated by enough people to make a difference – lets hope that changes – my work has this philosophy at its hub.