This project explores the boundaries of where humans collide with the natural environment, and imagines a more beautiful outcome of our encounter. The work begins in my studio, where I make mixed media pieces suspended in embroidery hoops. These hoops are then fixed to Langstroth bee hive frames, and placed into hives for the bees to embed in honeycomb. I use as much local and organic material as possible, and the bees are not harmed in any way during the process. I consider the bees to be my co-workers, collaborators in every sense. I do not manipulate conditions, such as the structure of the hive or the time it takes the bees to naturally build their comb. The frames are simply slipped into the hives, and “finished” by thousands of bees in the dark privacy of their homes.
