All Things Are Connected

Where do I start?

I've been thinking about bees for a long time - other art projects I've worked on in the past have generally been about nature in urban and rural landscapes; how we perceive nature; how environments are changing and the effects of human activity on our surroundings.
I love looking at plants (they don't move) and a few projects in the past have resulted in me conducting plant surveys on various plots of land. During these surveys I also get to see butterflies, dragonflies, moths, birds, mammals, bugs and bees etc

Bees have had a lot of press in the last couple of years: the decline in numbers and the effect that could have on our environment.
But my interest also extends to the history of the bee and the symbolism, stories and folklore surrounding bees and honey.

So, during the Bee Project at Yorkshire Sculpture Park I will be surveying all the native bumblebee and solitary bee species on the Bretton Estate, plus we are going to set up two beehives to observe honeybees at close range. I will also look at all the plant species around the estate and collect and press specimens.

The image here is 'dead bee. again and again' 2008 (from a series of 5 drawings)