Hive
Weltmuseum Vienna · 2023
SYMBOLISING THE URGENT NEED FOR AWARENESS FOR INSECT DECLINE, THE INSTALLATION SPARKS A CONVERSATION ABOUT MODERN ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS. WITHOUT THE CRUCIAL WORK OF POLLINATORS, BOTH OUR FOOD SECURITY AND THE EXISTENCE OF NUMEROUS PLANT SPECIES ARE AT RISK, CREATING A POTENTIAL THREAT TO ALL LIFE ON EARTH.
IN A COMPELLING DISPLAY, GERMAN CONCEPTUAL ARTIST MAXIMILIAN PRÜFER AND LIGHTING DESIGNER SEBASTIAN HEPTING HAVE PARTNERED WITH KAIA TO CONSTRUCT A CHANDELIER OF 1099 GLASS TUBES FILLED WITH HONEY. THIS REMARKABLE WORK OF ART AND DESIGN STANDS AS THE CENTREPIECE OF THE "FRUITS OF LABOUR" EXHIBITION AT VIENNA'S WELTMUSEUM, A PRESTIGIOUS INSTITUTION RECOGNIZED GLOBALLY FOR ITS DEDICATION TO WORLD CULTURE AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL EXPLORATION.
THE COLLABORATION WITH MAXIMILIAN PRÜFER BEGAN AFTER MANUELA SZEWALD, CEO AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF KAIA, INTRIGUED BY AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST, EXPLORED HIS WORK IN VIENNA. THEIR SHARED PASSION FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND HARMONIOUS COEXISTENCE WITH NATURE, FORGED THEIR PARTNERSHIP.
“HIVE”, THE RESULTING LIGHTING SCULPTURE, IS A TRIBUTE TO THE NOW-EXTINCT BEES AND WILD BEES. THE STUNNING PIECE OF ART, GLOWS WITH A WARM, HONEY-YELLOW LIGHT. ITS SEQUENCES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, CREATE A CALMING, ALMOST HYPNOTIC EFFECT.
THE INSTALLATION INCORPORATES 1099 LABORATORY GLASSES FILLED WITH HONEY WITH 99 EMBEDDED LED LIGHTS. THE LED LIGHTS ARE CONTROLLED WITH CUSTOM LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY, CREATING CAPTIVATING, SUBTLE CHANGES IN LIGHT COLOR. THE CHANDELIER'S LED MOVEMENT PATTERNS, MIRROR THE "SHIMMERING EFFECT", A DEFENCE MECHANISM USED BY BEES AGAINST ENEMIES LIKE HORNETS. THIS RAPID FORM OF COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE BEE SOCIETY HAS BEEN ARTISTICALLY REPLICATED IN THE INSTALLATION, OFFERING VIEWERS AN IMMERSIVE AND SOOTHING EXPERIENCE.
ABOUT THE ARTIST MAXIMILIAN PRÜFER
GERMAN ARTIST MAXIMILIAN PRÜFER’S PROFOUND CREATIONS DELVE INTO THE ANTHROPOCENE'S HUMAN INFLUENCE ON NATURE AND SPOTLIGHT ITS GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS. HIS WORK PRIMARILY FOCUSES ON THE INTERCONNECTION OF THREE SPHERES: NATURE, ANIMALS, AND HUMANS, EMPHASISING HUMANITY'S INHERENT TIES TO NATURE DESPITE OUR MODERN DETACHMENT.
PRÜFER'S ART ADDRESSES AN ARRAY OF ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS, INCLUDING BEE EXTINCTION AND ITS SEVERE THREAT TO BIODIVERSITY, LARGELY STEMMING FROM CONSEQUENTIAL POLITICAL ACTIONS IN CHINA DURING THE MID-20TH CENTURY. HIS "FRUITS OF LABOUR" EXHIBITION PROVIDES A STARK DEPICTION OF THE HUMAN EFFORT REQUIRED TO OFFSET BIODIVERSITY LOSS.
PRÜFER'S JOURNEYS TO CHINA’S SICHUAN PROVINCE UNVEILED A STARTLING REALITY: A VALLEY DEVOID OF INSECTS AND BIRDS, WHERE MANUAL POLLINATION WAS THE ONLY MEANS OF FRUIT TREE PROPAGATION. THIS ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCE, A TRAGIC CONSEQUENCE OF THE "GREAT LEAP FORWARD" CAMPAIGN INITIATED BY MAO ZEDONG, LED TO FAILED HARVESTS AND WIDESPREAD STARVATION. ITS EFFECTS PERSIST TO THIS DAY.
SHOWCASED IN THE "FRUITS OF LABOUR" EXHIBITION ARE PRÜFER’S PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS, "PERFORMANCE - HAND POLLINATION" AND "FROM FLOWER TO FLOWER". THESE PIECES SERVE AS AN ODE TO HUMAN ADAPTABILITY, HIGHLIGHTING OUR CAPACITY TO FILL IN FOR POLLINATORS LIKE BEES IN THE DELICATE PROCESS OF FRUIT TREE POLLINATION.