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| An imposing future for Middlesbrough's bees | An imposing future for Middlesbrough's bees |
| (4 months later) | |
| Life can be good if you are a bee living in Middlesbrough; the climate is mild and the rolling miles of heather on the North York Moors are only a short flight away. | Life can be good if you are a bee living in Middlesbrough; the climate is mild and the rolling miles of heather on the North York Moors are only a short flight away. |
| Now it is to get better, thanks to local artists and the Cleveland Beekeepers' Association, a lively organisation nicknamed Tees Bees, who are getting together in a fascinating fusion of the little insects, art and modern architecture. | Now it is to get better, thanks to local artists and the Cleveland Beekeepers' Association, a lively organisation nicknamed Tees Bees, who are getting together in a fascinating fusion of the little insects, art and modern architecture. |
| The project centres on four distinctive beehives created by Cath Keay, the Lipman Fellow in fine art at Newcastle University. She has copied in miniature four 20th century Brutalist structures which are landmarks of the 'Boro, a town whose very fine building tradition the Arts and Crafts former offices of Dorman Long designed by Philip Webb and the noble Transporter Bridge. | The project centres on four distinctive beehives created by Cath Keay, the Lipman Fellow in fine art at Newcastle University. She has copied in miniature four 20th century Brutalist structures which are landmarks of the 'Boro, a town whose very fine building tradition the Arts and Crafts former offices of Dorman Long designed by Philip Webb and the noble Transporter Bridge. |
| Middlesbrough's bees will be offered a choice of scaled-down versions of the former Dunning Road police station, the hexagons of Steel House and Kennedy Gardens flats in Billingham, the former heartland of ICI whose urban development after the First World War was planning Utopia incarnate. They will be placed around the town and observed by artists and webcams, with all sorts of implications for the study of architecture and interaction between the human and animal world. | Middlesbrough's bees will be offered a choice of scaled-down versions of the former Dunning Road police station, the hexagons of Steel House and Kennedy Gardens flats in Billingham, the former heartland of ICI whose urban development after the First World War was planning Utopia incarnate. They will be placed around the town and observed by artists and webcams, with all sorts of implications for the study of architecture and interaction between the human and animal world. |
| Three fellow-artists have just started bee-keeping courses with the Cleveland enthusiasts, learning about the beautifully-constructed structure of bee colonies, which will develop inside Keay's hives. On the outside, these are accurate translations of the original architecture with details such as windows carved on. Keay says: | Three fellow-artists have just started bee-keeping courses with the Cleveland enthusiasts, learning about the beautifully-constructed structure of bee colonies, which will develop inside Keay's hives. On the outside, these are accurate translations of the original architecture with details such as windows carved on. Keay says: |
| By utilising disused ground and locations, and inspired by the growing interest in beekeeping, these small pavilions aim to evoke the spirit of George Cruikshank's Illustration of the British Beehive. | By utilising disused ground and locations, and inspired by the growing interest in beekeeping, these small pavilions aim to evoke the spirit of George Cruikshank's Illustration of the British Beehive. |
| Industrious colonies of worker bees prompt endless metaphorical interpretations of our own society. However, it is the insects' architectural abilities that particularly interest me: they follow strict building regulations including east-west alignments of new built comb, regular bee-space corridors ensure easy passage, and all constructions show an astonishing economy of material resources. | Industrious colonies of worker bees prompt endless metaphorical interpretations of our own society. However, it is the insects' architectural abilities that particularly interest me: they follow strict building regulations including east-west alignments of new built comb, regular bee-space corridors ensure easy passage, and all constructions show an astonishing economy of material resources. |
| The modularity of modernist architecture has strong parallels in what is required for beehives, to enable empty units (called 'supers') to be added to accommodate a growing population. | The modularity of modernist architecture has strong parallels in what is required for beehives, to enable empty units (called 'supers') to be added to accommodate a growing population. |
| Bee cells feature, for example, in the curious neurological phenomenon of geometrical patterns including honeycombs which the human mind often experiences as a result of starvation, sensory deprivation, getting drunk or suffering a migraine. By coincidence, I've just been reading an absorbing note on this in the excellent book Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks, the writer and neurologist. | Bee cells feature, for example, in the curious neurological phenomenon of geometrical patterns including honeycombs which the human mind often experiences as a result of starvation, sensory deprivation, getting drunk or suffering a migraine. By coincidence, I've just been reading an absorbing note on this in the excellent book Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks, the writer and neurologist. |
| Commissioned by the arts encouragers and enablers rednile, the completed hives will be placed around the town and maintained by local beekeepers, groups and individuals. The idea followed an experimental 'making' weekend called Factory Nights with 25 artists at Dundas House, which is bring used by East Street Arts as temporary studios. | Commissioned by the arts encouragers and enablers rednile, the completed hives will be placed around the town and maintained by local beekeepers, groups and individuals. The idea followed an experimental 'making' weekend called Factory Nights with 25 artists at Dundas House, which is bring used by East Street Arts as temporary studios. |
| An exhibition of the hives, a live 'hive' webcam and limited print editions including 'make your own beehive' are currently in production to encourage the growing interest in beekeeping and promote awareness of nature in urban environments. Down in London, the grocery shop Fortnum & Mason has four beautifully carved hives housing bee colonies on its roof, each representing one of the world's great classical schools of architecture. | An exhibition of the hives, a live 'hive' webcam and limited print editions including 'make your own beehive' are currently in production to encourage the growing interest in beekeeping and promote awareness of nature in urban environments. Down in London, the grocery shop Fortnum & Mason has four beautifully carved hives housing bee colonies on its roof, each representing one of the world's great classical schools of architecture. |
| You can read more about the project here. | You can read more about the project here. |
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