How can I let them out?
It is the noise that appals me most of all,
The unintelligible syllables.
It is like a Roman mob,
Small, taken one by one, but my god, together!From ‘The Bee Meeting’ by Sylvia Plath
This project brings artists together with academics from four University of Sheffield faculties to discuss what we think about … when we think about bees.
Three artworks by three artists: Anthony Bennett, Paul Evans and Hondartza Fraga will be successively impressed and projected onto the surface of (or installed within) a single craftsman-built beehive, manufactured from sustainable raw materials in the Derbyshire Peak District. The completed hive will be displayed in various locations beginning with the Winter Gardens, Sheffield from 27th March until 4th April 2016.
These artworks will be produced in collaborative dialogue with academics interested in bees and related material will showcase academic work on bees, and the process of collaboration between academic and artists. Academic participants are: Mike Braddick (History), Bob Mackay (English), Terry O’Connor (Forced Entertainment & Department of English), Adrian Moore (Music), Mike Holcombe, James Marshall & Chelsea Sabo (Computer Studies), Mike Siva Jothy (APS) and Patrick Fowler (Chemistry). Their interests range across bees as a political and ethical model for human society, bee behaviour and computer models, hexagonal geometries, the influence of bees on architecture, and their inspiration in dance and music.
Braddick and Evans will facilitate collaborations from November 2015 – February 2016 and the collaboration will culminate in an installation in three suitable spaces for at least a week in each space. The hive will then be donated to a local school where it will revert to its utilitarian function. The hive will be accompanied by a pop-up banner explaining the project, with key quotes from academics involved and a QR code linking to the project blog.
Think About Bees ... 