The Honey Bee and the Hive brings together the work of 28 designers who have all responded to the brief set by guest curator Wendy Ramshaw CBE RDI on the subject of the Honey Bee and the Hive. Wendy notes that ‘Bees, it is said, are the most studied creatures on the planet after man.’

Wendy was reminded of Einstein’s prediction about the consequences of no more pollination, ‘If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.’

‘When I think of bees I think of light and the sun. Their absence is hard to imagine but the light turns to darkness. Black and white seems appropriate to express this terrible contrast and possibility.’, notes ceramicist John Ward. Although John’s usual working methods revolve around the abstract, he says, “I decided finally to try to weave the bee into the form of the pot; to express this kinship with us and the natural world. It has made me think more about the bee, and the design process.’

Zoe Arnold’s installation piece Our Future Hours, featured a swarm of tiny ceramic bees studded with gold set upon an old school desk. Zoe’s other works in the exhibition included two circular wall pieces featuring old maps inset with a tiny golden bee.

Rebecca Catterall produced two prototypes for a modern version of the skep, which is an ancient tool for collecting and keeping bees – usually woven, but also found in ceramic. The two prototypes are slip-cast clay and reference the repeated units and almost mechanical production techniques of old skeps.

Glassmaker Michael Ruh created St. Ambrose’s Reliquary composed of three glass vessels. He says ‘I wonder if one day honey will be something found only within reliquaries, an object to be revered as something sacred from the past?’

Don’t Call me Honey by mosaic artist Cleo Mussi explores Cleo’s love of recycling. ‘I recycle a large proportion of my materials; the combinations of marks and glazes as well as functional forms are combined to produce works whose content reflect design styles and fashions within British ceramic history. Chinese ceramic meets Wedgewood, Poole sits next to Japanese porcelain and Staffordshire unites with Homebase.’

Natasha Kerr’s quilt takes inspiration from Steve Benbow the urban bee keeper. Natasha says, ‘I wanted to talk to him about bees and their plight, to get some sort of inspiration for the show. He was inspired to start bee keeping when he lived in a flat in Bermondsey…From the initial hives in Bermondsey Steve Benbow has sited hives in many city areas, including on the rooftop of the Tate and Fortnum and Masons.

‘I used Steve Benbow, his knowledge and his collection of bee inspired objects as the subject matter for this piece. I surrounded myself with his books and honeycombs. Lastly and most importantly, the central image of the piece depicts Steve Benbow’s grand parents. They were pig farmers in Shropshire. Steve came across this photograph a time after he himself had started bee keeping. He had never consciously seen it before and he treasures it. The beekeeping was obviously in his blood and his destiny.’

Laura Baxter takes inspiration from botanical forms, so the theme was especially apt. ‘I have an interest in collecting old books and ephemera, so whilst researching work for this exhibition I found the most amazing book by Sir William Jardine, ‘The Naturalist’s Library – Entomology ’ first printed in 1840 and illustrated by W H Lizars. I began to covet this book, studying its contents, memoirs to Huber and Jardine’s passionate descriptions of all bee species, their anatomy and behaviour. The hand coloured engravings were of particular interest to me and became like ‘jewels’ that I wanted to use in my work – a desire to combine the beauty of old print and text with my botanical work.’

‘However I couldn’t bring myself to cut up this exquisite rare book. Instead I managed to find 2 first edition loose prints from a book dealer in the USA. Just as precious and vulnerable as our bees are, I have used these original engravings as a jeweller would use a rare gemstone to make a series of brooches featuring our most common humble bumble bee and our British honey bee.’

Wendy Ramshaw’s Bee Table is ‘a celebration of the structural organization of the beehive and the bee. A pattern of perfect white cells creates the top of the table through which can be seen worker bees caught within sheets of glass…..The table simply references the brilliance and wonder of a hive and the extraordinary nature of a bee colony, the form in which I have chosen to do this remains a mystery.’

Ceramicist David Binns’ Plight of the Bees is ‘suggestive of Bees, through pattern and colour, allowing the viewer to develop their own personal interpretation. What I hope will be of interest, is the fact that the piece is made from almost 100% recycled waste material, offering a broader narrative about issues of sustainability and eco-responsibility.’ Bookbinder Tracey Rowledge ‘s The Essence of Beeing is created in black goatskin with gold-tooled title.

The Honeybee and the Hive runs from March 26 to May 01 at Contemporary Applied Arts, 2 Percy Street, London

Contemporary Applied Arts

Wendy Ramshaw
Zoe Arnold
Rebecca Catterall
Michael Ruh
Joanna Veevers
Cleo Mussi
Natasha Kerr
Laura Baxter
David Binns
Tracey Rowledge

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