ARTIST WITH THE HELP OF THOUSANDS OF BEES CREATE INCREDIBLE ART
For the past decade, Toronto-based artist Eva Ross has been creating art with unusual helpers: bees. Unconventional as it may sound, this heterogeneous collaboration explores the relationship between humans and nature. The collaged and embroidered wooden frame is richly decorated with golden beehives, emphasising the beauty of this partnership.
For these unique creations, Ross relies on organic and local materials. B. Fodder material, birch bark, leaves, horsehair. “This work begins in my studio with creating a collage of her encaustic hanging on an embroidery hoop,” Ross explains. “The hoops are attached to a custom-made Langstroth hive frame and placed in a beehive where thousands of bees enclose the work in a beehive.”
As their projects have evolved over the years, the designs of these frames have become more and more complex. Bees can fill circular gaps in the forest, or they can have rectangular or more abstract shapes. The natural appearance of the beehives blends into Ross's work and sometimes disappears from the frame, making these pieces come to life as if they were part of the environment.