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Collaborating with bees to create sculptures wrapped in honeycomb

Aganetha Dyck is a Canadian artist who is interested in environmental issues, specifically the power of the small. She aims to explore interspecies communication through her artwork.

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All photos courtesy Peter Dyck and William Eakin

All photos courtesy Peter Dyck and William Eakin

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.

Left: Colourful porcelain figurine covered in honeycomb and beeswax. Right: Architectural tower model similarly encased in honeycomb created by collaborating bees
Porcelain figurine of a woman in an elaborate dress entirely covered in honeycomb created by bees as part of Aganetha Dyck's collaborative artwork
Two views of a porcelain figurine partially encased in honeycomb created by bees working on the sculpture as part of Aganetha Dyck's collaborative artwork
Porcelain figurines of two women in period dress encased in honeycomb and beeswax, created by artist Aganetha Dyck through collaboration with honeybees
Porcelain figurines of elegantly dressed women and a man adorned with honeycomb and beeswax, created through collaboration with honeybees in Aganetha Dyck's interactive art installation
Porcelain figurine encased in golden honeycomb and beeswax, with decorative fabric and small objects embedded in the textured surface
Porcelain figurine partially covered in golden honeycomb created by bees as part of Aganetha Dyck's collaborative sculptural artwork
A white porcelain head covered in yellow honeycomb wax alongside a honeycomb structure, part of Aganetha Dyck's collaborative bee sculpture series
Two views of a porcelain figurine encased in honeycomb, with blue and green painted details, created through Aganetha Dyck's collaboration with bees
Two views of a pale green porcelain figurine with draped fabric, encased in honeycomb wax created by bees collaborating with artist Aganetha Dyck
Porcelain figurine partially encased in honeycomb by bees, wearing a pink dress with blue and green accents
Left: porcelain figurine of a woman with blonde hair holding a yellow and green fish encased in honeycomb. Right: close-up of the woman's head showing honeycomb texture covering her blonde hair
Four views of Aganetha Dyck's collaborative sculptures with bees, showing porcelain figurines and objects partially or fully encased in golden honeycomb and wax
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