The Palace of the Bees
An initial dice throw led to a book of modern art from which my collaborator picked three blind choice pages. One page was on Nam June Paik the Korean pioneer of video art. Researching his work I came across a 1991 series of thirteen pieces called 'My Faust' in which he made a number of identical Gothic architectural structures and customised them to reflect on different aspects of modern society. Each piece contained a video element.
Meanwhile my collaborator had been making paintings of bees and had ambitions to become a bee-keeper and so after quite extensive discussions and research it was decided to bring these two ideas together and construct the Palace of the Bees. There are various references to bee culture and history in the construction. Hidden behind the hive section is a monitor showing the video with sound which was viewed through spy holes inserted in the front wall. To bring a further sensory experience to the piece visitors were invited to help themselves to honey fudge from a bowl in front of the hive.
Meanwhile my collaborator had been making paintings of bees and had ambitions to become a bee-keeper and so after quite extensive discussions and research it was decided to bring these two ideas together and construct the Palace of the Bees. There are various references to bee culture and history in the construction. Hidden behind the hive section is a monitor showing the video with sound which was viewed through spy holes inserted in the front wall. To bring a further sensory experience to the piece visitors were invited to help themselves to honey fudge from a bowl in front of the hive.
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