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Why Am I Making Art From Thousands Of Dead Bees?

I was inspired to create these works when three of my own beehives collapsed, and I found a visual way to speak out about it.

BEE WORKS is a series of mixed-media pieces that raise awareness of honeybee colony collapse and pollinator decline. In these works, I have arranged thousands of dead honeybees in mathematical patterns. When viewed in person, these works produce a disorienting vertigo-like effect which I liken to the bees’ loss of ability to navigate when exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides. That said, the mandala forms presents thousands of individual bees working together to form a beautiful pattern, which is a reminder of hope and renewal.

The patterns that I chose have symbolic links to the agricultural practices that are contributing to the collapse of bee colonies worldwide. “Florid” is arranged in the same Fibonacci mathematical sequence found in the seed pattern of the sunflower, which is grown as a monoculture crop for its seeds and oil. Other pieces use ancient patterns from crop circles. Both of these patterns have obvious symbolic ties to agriculture in general, but also imply a mysterious, man-made cause. Monoculture growing practices are detrimental to bees, and neonicotinoid pesticides are used in many countries on sunflowers, corn, etc. These have been found to destroy bees’ navigational systems and are linked to the sudden increase in Colony Collapse Disorder.

I would be thrilled if these works contribute to a growing awareness about the issue – one that may influence the implementation of a ban on systemic pesticides.