“Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.”
Requiem Apis
2014-16 / work-in-progress
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””
An immersive multimedia installation exploring bee colony collapse disorder and the honeycomb structure. The project weaves together architecture, sound, text, video projections and lighting.
Using the decline in honeybee populations worldwide as the starting point, the project explores bee intelligence as related to the formation of the honeycomb structure, as well as bee spatial perception, navigation and communication through the five senses.
The research will be used towards creating a tangible experience for the audience, framed within a human-scale, "abandoned" beehive honeycomb structure.
By moving through and engaging with the installation on a multisensory level at human scale, the intent is to create a space of empathy that allows us to experience alternate perceptions of space, while raising questions concerning animal commodification and the impact of our exploitation of nature on the environment. Perhaps only through physical empathy with the world of the Other can we better understand, respect, and learn from the animal kingdom.
With support from the Ontario Arts Council & Toronto Arts Council
For more information, please see project description.