abigail read

In recent years, the decline in the number of honey bees, in part due to the use of insecticides in industrial agriculture, has drawn attention because of its impact on farming and the natural environment. These insects impact us directly through their production of honey, but also as significant pollinators. While honey bees are not the only pollinator, they serve a vital purpose in the food chain. Because honey bee colonies can be managed by beekeepers, the hives can be placed where they are needed, and this makes them critical in the role of pollination.

The series, Entwined, is comprised of images inspired by my experience as a beekeeper. I started beekeeping when I was twelve, and in that time have experienced both the struggles and joys of keeping bees. Honey bees are social insects and work collectively to create an interdependent colony. 

These photographs utilize the icons associated with honey bees to create imagery that reflects on the closely entwined relationship between the honey bee and humanity. The images are printed digitally and mounted to hexagonal wood blocks to mimic the shape of the individual openings in honeycomb. An encaustic wax medium is spread over the print, which gives the image texture and depth. This process is slow, and it brings to mind the intricate and time-consuming processes that honey bees use to create comb and harvest honey. The prints are installed so that they are spread out like a fractured honeycomb to illustrate the damaged ecosystem in which the honey bees exist, and to also take into account the complex and large social aspect of honey bees. The images are hung in a balanced composition to portray the delicate and symbiotic relationship between nature and humans.