YORKTON – Selected works from BETWEEN US are on display now at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery until Dec. 21.
The works are the result of two bee seasons over the course 2021 and 2022 in which local artists, Hannah Yokozawa Farquharson and Kelly Litzenberger, worked in a collaborative effort with bees to produce them.
BETWEEN US consisted of multiple artists participating under the guidance of Canadian artist, Aganetha Dyck.
“Dyck is best known for her work with honeybees, which began in 1989 when she rented beehives, and is described by her as a collaboration. Dyck places objects into beehives and allows insects to build honeycomb on the objects, sometimes over the course of years,” as per the biography section of AganethaDyck.ca.
SaskToday.ca spoke with the two featured artists to learn about their themes as well as future plans to work with bees.
Why did you choose these specific pieces for display?
Litzenberger
Working with LEGO as an art medium can get very expensive. Since I didn’t know how successful it would be for for bees to build upon abs plastic, I repurposed a LEGO model that I had already designed. However, I did deconstruct half the model so that it would be more of an open and hollow shell which made it more interesting.
Yokozawa Farquharson
My works are displayed under two main themes. The first set of pieces represents the remarkable abilities of bees, particularly their communication skills, while the second set represents the cycle of life.
Have you thought about other pieces that you’d like to try with the bees and what they would be?
Litzenberger
Not really. By the time I get to the end of a project I’m ready to move on to something different.
Yokozawa Farquharson
In the first year of the project, I created the base structures with the intention that the bees would build their hives in specific areas I had envisioned. However, due to a very hot and dry summer, only one out of several pieces I made actually had bees build a hive on it. This led me to question why only one piece succeeded. I realized that I was missing the awareness that this was a collaborative effort between the beekeepers, their bees, and myself.
In the second year, I focused on creating structures that would inspire the bees to build hives naturally. I prioritized designing with a mindset attuned to the bees’ perspective, considering what would appeal to them. It turned out to be a favourable summer weather-wise, and many bees built hives on the pieces. Through this experience, I felt a sense of connected consciousness between us. If I am ever fortunate enough to have such an incredible collaborative opportunity again, I would start by truly conversing with the bees.
Art is subjective, and what we take from it is typically in the eye of the beholder. Is there a deeper meaning to your pieces that you’d be willing to share?
Litzenberger
I thought it was cool to have the bees work in a LEGO model replicated after my old skate shop.
For the second year I built a model of a person interacting with a beehive, so it was as though the bees were working on a small version of the beehive that they were in.
Yokozawa Farquharson
I believe that art resonates with the energy of the viewer through the frequencies or vibrations embodied within the work itself. This resonance influences what the viewer feels in their heart. In this case, the work is infused with a collective energy—a blend of the frequencies and energies from three beekeepers, their bees, and myself. How this energy interacts with the energy of each viewer is unique to them. I have been fortunate enough to collaborate with three wonderful beekeepers( Stan and Tricia Reeds , Jake Dingman) and their bees, creating this work together. I hope you enjoy experiencing the results of our collaboration.
