A while ago I came across the work of Amy Shelton and wrote a blog spot about her project Honeyscribe. I then completely forgot to publish it… So, here it is:
In her artwork, Amy Shelton, who read
History of Art at Manchester University and later Fine Art at the University of Plymouth, constantly reflects on the
plight of the honeybee. Back in 2011, in response to her research, Amy began The Honeyscribe Project – something that lead her to produce a fascinating body of
work that explored the relationship between bee health, human health and the environment.
Her aim was to create a body of work that would encourage a dialogue about bees
between scientists, artists, writers, beekeepers and the public. Apparently,
the name of the project comes from an original name used in Ancient Egypt.
Apparently, a ‘Honey Scribe’ was a person who was given the task of recording
every drop of honey produced by the local bees. Amy borrowed this title as a contemporary
Honey Scribe who charters current threats to the health of the honey bee
whilst reflecting upon their behaviour.
This year, back in the Spring (sorry guys – I missed
it too as I was in California) Amy curated an exhibition in one of the
galleries I once exhibited at – Peninsula Arts in the city of Plymouth – it’s a
fantastic space and I recommend it. Shelton’s exhibition was a collaborative
one featuring many artists, but also, and more importantly for me, one of her
own pieces called: ‘Florilegium: Honey Flow’ - a light box installation that documented the plant sources of the pollen and nectar
collected by bees to sustain their colonies. This fascinating body of hand sourced
material was, in my opinion, arranged by Shelton in such a beautiful, well
thought out way. Hundreds of preserved melliferous plants were collected and
pressed over an entire year by Amy. Such a collection on its own acts as an absorbing
calendar into the life of both the bee and the plant, but when arranged against
a lit backdrop in the way these were, they become beautiful pieces of art in
their own right. Through this arrangement, Sheldon reveals the inner beauty of
every flower whilst also highlighting their importance. Fantastic!
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