Kath Fries Studio: Sun-compass, 2013, Accelerator Gallery

Sun-compass continues my experiments with beeswax as material for sculptural installations, exploring its tactility, malleability and flux. I've used readymade beeswax sheets, made from melted down comb (from honeycomb after the honey is removed), cast into thin panes with embossed hexagonal patterning. These unified sheets have an intriguing translucency and mathematical patterning that echoes the wax's original state in the hive. The tactile sensory nature of this material is heightened by its thin dispersal, drawing attention to its smell and colour influenced by changes in light and differing temperatures.

Kath Fries, Sun-compass, 2013, beeswax, twigs, bark, clay and thread,
installation total size approx. 250 x 690 x 300 cm

Kath Fries, Sun-compass, 2013, beeswax, twigs, bark, clay and thread, installation total size approx. 250 x 690 x 300 cm

Kath Fries, Sun-compass, 2013, beeswax, twigs, bark, clay and thread, (detail view)

A continuous line of beeswax, like a high-tide mark, runs around the walls of the gallery space forming a visual connection and sense of journey. The line is made from reused pieces of beeswax from previous artworks, as well as new sheets torn or melted into smaller sections and remoulded together. At each end of the space is a distinctly separate sculptural element; combining beeswax with twigs, bark, thread and clay. On the floor, a circle of twigs and clay seem to be attending each other amidst a state of collapse, whist the suspended bark sculpture benevolently looks on, spinning slowly in the draught.

Kath Fries, Sun-compass, 2013, beeswax, twigs, bark, clay and thread, installation total size approx. 250 x 690 x 300 cm

Kath Fries, Sun-compass, 2013, beeswax, twigs, bark, clay and thread,
installation total size approx. 250 x 690 x 300 cm

Kath Fries, Sun-compass, 2013, beeswax, twigs, bark, clay and thread, (detail view)

Sun-compass reflects aspects of my research into the cycles of the worker honeybees' journeys within and beyond the hive. Ever since Aristotle first began observing and recording bees' social behaviour in ancient Greece, scientists have been researching bees and are still learning new things about their complex behaviours and adaptations. I was interested to learn about bee communication, particularly the waggle dance - which tells the other worker bees the direction and distance to pollinating flowers.

Kath Fries, Sun-compass, 2013, beeswax, twigs, bark, clay and thread, (detail view)

Kath Fries, Sun-compass, 2013, beeswax, (detail view)

My use of beeswax has expand into an interest in bee research, Apiology and Apiculture, heightened by recent media coverage of Colony Collapse Disorder (CDD). This epidemic is rife throughout the Northern Hemisphere and will probably become apparent throughout the entire world over the next few years. The term, Colony Collapse Disorder, is used to describe phenomenon of worker bees failing to return to the hive, causing the dying out of mass populations of domesticated Western Honeybees. CCD is believed to be mainly caused by use of nemonic pesticides in the agricultural industry. More info.