Collaborating with bees to create sculptures wrapped in honeycomb

Her considered research asks questions about the ramifications all living beings would experience should honeybees disappear from the Earth. Using apiary feeder boards and hive blankets to develop her new body of work, Aganetha works with the industrious insects to create delicate sculptures using porcelain figurines, shoes, sports equipment, and all kinds of objects. As time passes the ordinary objects are slowly transformed with the bees’ wax honeycomb.

When you look at the final pieces, you can't help but smile, imagining the unwitting bees helping to create a unique piece of art. Yet it's our own ignorance that's at play here. Aganetha is clearly trying to expose our lack of understanding of humanity’s connection to bees and nature, and how delicate everything has become.

You can learn more about this process by watching the video below from the Confederation Centre of the Arts. All photos courtesy Peter Dyck and William Eakin.