union

“Union” was commissioned by the University of Minnesota’s new bee research and discovery center. I wanted to illustrate the interdependence between bees and humans so I sought to collaborate with bees themselves. Beehives in the wild are magnificent sculptures. I worked with a beekeeper and devised sculptural forms which we placed in our custom made hive boxes and let the bees create burr comb on the forms. We inserted a queen separator so none of the comb held larvae. I then placed the comb into the fissure of my sculpture and cast it in bronze. The sculpted honeybees have an iridescent patina to create a whimsical look. The discovery center is a place that attracts lots of families and the colorful bees are intriguing to the children.