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The Bee Bole

Alec Finlay

      

AUDIO

The Bee Poems are a collection of found and collaged texts derived from the books that make up The Bee Libraries. The books are converted into nests for solitary bees and a residue of their content is refined into poetry, much as honey is refined from nectar. The poems derive from classic studies from Virgil to Von Frisch, apiculture, scientific studies of bee behaviour and representations of bees and beekeeping in myth and art from ancient times to the present day. The project is ongoing, published as a series of short blogs.

The Bee Libraries are collections of bee-related books converted into nests for bees. In 2012 bee libraries were installed at Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Biennale of Sydney; in summer 2013 libraries are being installed at the National Fruit Collection (Brogdale), Yorkshire Dales National Park (Malham), University of Stirling, and a small branch library at Shandy Hall. Constructed from a book, bamboo, wire-netting and water-proofing, each nest offers shelter for solitary bees, whose numbers are in steep decline. The Bee Poems are a collection of texts composed from a close reading of the books.

During 2013 Alec Finlay will undertake a Leverhulme funded residency, in collaboration with Kathleen Jamie and scientists specializing in solitary bees at the University of Stirling. The project will shed light on the increasing fragility of pollinators; reconsider the symbolism of bees in myth, politics, economics, and society; and reflect on bee communication, colour-perception, and honeycomb construction. Finlay will translate this knowledge into sculpture, poetry, and a bee library sited on campus. This blog will expand over Summer 2013.

Global Oracle juxtaposes contemporary communicat- ion networks and ancient myth. The Omphalos stone in the oracle at Delphi was patterned with a crosswork of bees, which the ancient Greeks associated with the soul. The contemporary oracular network is the NAVSTAR GPS satellite system. Global Oracle models 24 satellite nests for solitary bees, constructed from straw, willow, steel, and wood. The artwork was commissioned by University of Warwick and will be installed late Summer 2012.

Swarm (ASX) is an apicultural model of the global financial system. Fluctuations in the stock market reverberate in the ‘buzz’ of honey-bees broadcast from 10 hives. Each hive bears the acronym of a major world stock exchange – New York, Toronto, Sao Paulo, London, Frankfurt, Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Sydney. Installed at the 18th Biennale of Sydney, Swarm (ASX) is a snapshot of speculative finance translated into the natural ecosystem of bees: dynamic, in flux, undergoing crisis.

Alec Finlay has contributed to the annual Spring hanami blossom-festival at the National Fruit Coll- ection, Brogdale. Gathering together a seasonal anthology adapting Basho’s famous haiku on the bee, the poems were presented as tanzaku – poem-labels – hung on trees. A workshop was held in the orchard, led by Ken Cockburn, in collaboration with Luke Allan. Alec has also created a new permanent artwork for Brogdale, colour specifying beehives to record the succession of blossoming fruit trees: pear, plum, cherry, quince, and apple. A post documenting these projects will be published early summer 2013.

   audio by Chris Watson, 2011