The bee dance

The work consists of writing, drawing and analog photography, exploring issues related to ecology and climate change that has affected the life cycles and functioning of animals and plants (in this case bees), through personal observations from my work as a gardener. In addition, it wishes to draw correspondences between bee social behaviors and the ways in which human societies organize. Finally the work comments on concepts such as collectivity and collective care and how these are reflected or not in bee and human societies respectively.

Darling magazine is a website and periodical publication that features essays and draft works by artists and writers. In the upcoming issue titled “Weathering,” contributors explore the interplay between natural phenomena and human activities, delving into the connections between climate change and human emotions.

During a November morning walk on the foothills of mount Hymettus, I noticed something strange: dead solitary bees laying inside opened Crocus cartwrightianus flowers, dotting the rocky ground. They seemed as if they were sleeping or maybe resting, but with a closer inspection, the reality of what was going on sunk in, leaving behind an unsettling feeling. It didn’t feel natural or normal: this feeling was even more accentuated by the beauty of that particular November faint dawn light, which made the appearance of the red stigmas of the Crocus flowers even more vibrant. The presence of death in this context of harmony and beauty seemed unfitting and absurd. Later I was told that these bees had most likely been confused by the deceptively good temperatures. They were leaving their hive in search for food on the occasion of the mellow weather; and then a sudden frost would freeze them in their position, making them unable to return in time to their home. This explains why they looked almost stunted in place, suspended in time, like a still from a film.

Excerpt from “Caring for the Collective: The Bee dance”