Winnipeg artist Aganetha Dyck is fascinated by the power of small animals, and over a decade ago she set out to create art with the help of a bee hive. Working with bee keepers, she set up a special apiary where bees could build their honeycombs on top of dolls and other objects. The results are beautiful and otherworldly.
No bees are harmed in the making of these sculptures, and their homes aren't damaged. You can learn more about the Dyck's process in the odd little video below, about how she and her collaborators create the sculptures. Many of them are built over many seasons. They often take years to reach the point where she's satisfied that they're complete.
Dyck says she understands why humans might think they aren't part of nature, but that it's "crazy" to say we aren't part of the environment. Her collaborations with bees are intended to remind us how connected we are to our environment, and how much we depend on bees and other pollinating insects for our food supply. Without bees, we'd starve. Their lives are knitted deeply into our own, just as these honeycombs are bound to the bodies of these human-created icons.
Dyck has an exhibition, Honeybee Alterations, that opens at the Ottawa School of Art on March 3, 2014.
Read more on Colossal / All photos by Aganetha Dyck