Zane Hankin
Our Hive, 2020
Wax, cardboard, metal wire, polymer clay, paint, plywood, wood
Dimensions Variable
Bees live in incredibly organized and well-maintained colonies. Each bee is assigned to their own specific role in order to ensure the hive’s success: such as worker, nurse, laying worker, and drone bee. Yet, these societies often go unappreciated for their complexity because people’s fears of being stung by a bee trumps the fact that they are either just flying towards flowers to pollinate or back towards their hive. One of the most interesting facts about bees is that most, if not every bee, comes from the same mother: the Queen bee. The hive is directly dependent on the well-being of the Queen, and if she dies unexpectedly, then a hive could completely collapse due to them not having a replacement Queen.
I was excited about showcasing this complex relationship with bees in comparison to the society that humans live in. The human structures of school and work are incredibly similar to the job of the worker bees, yet humans have much more freedom in their lives. In contrast, this freedom lessens the cohesiveness of societies. By exhibiting the societal structure of bees and their hives, I strive to highlight how vast each person’s own freedom is compared to the simple and mundane life of a worker bee.
The form of the sculpture highlights a real beehive, while emphasizing its true elegance. Additionally, I seek to push the theme of individuation by exhibiting a large group of bees, a typical exterior to a natural beehive. Finally, the honey drip at the bottom connects bees to the honey that we leverage their work ethics for.
