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Melissa Wood: 3D Mixed Media
Sweet Layers: hive
My exploration of the hive began in 2003 during a residency at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. I draw on research and discussions about honey bees and their social structure through interviews, the internet, historical and scientific texts, and personal inspection of the insects.
My hive installations examine layers of meaning and experience seen in the context of the honey bee hive. Through juxtaposing layers the work directs the viewer to examine its' meaning through imagery in a manner similar to sifting through memory to make sense of life, time and events.
The hive installations expand from two-dimensional paintings to organic sculptures which protrude from the wall and dance in the air. Some of the sculptures seem swaddled and protected, some are constricted, some seem eaten through with "beautiful anxiety." I use materials commonly associated with agriculture and apiculture and I reference history and text. The honey, pollen and nectar relate to iconic texts. My work references the Gettysburg Address, the Magna Carta, Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet", ancient Japanese myths, and French Revolutionary texts. |
