Wax Works

 Allergic to all forms of hymenoptera (stinging insects), I worked with honeybees to create a series of works focusing on conceptually meaningful relationships to material and process. These Waxworks are the result of a collaboration with these amazing architects of the animal kingdom whose own existence is threatened due to Colony Collapse Disorder. 

For many, traumatic experiences not only lead us to consider mortality more openly, but can serve as sources for re-imagining how an image can be created. In August of 2003, two stings on my hand led to near-fatal episode of anaphylactic shock. Since then, many more episodes of anaphylaxis have occurred. Though frightening, these experiences have been valuable in locating specific metaphors about process and material in relation to self-portraiture. 

How process and material interface with representation has been a central concern in contemporary art. One of the legacies of Minimalist art has been its focus on materiality.   That is, that the physical substance of the artwork is central to its meaning. 

In Waxworks I, honey is stored in wax cells that have been built by bees in my likeness. The very insects that placed me in mortal danger inhabit the void of my body. In Waxworks II, three observation hives are displayed with live bees. The images are encased in beeswax to promote the bees in these hives to build comb directly onto the images while simultaneously encouraging the bees to efface my likeness. 

Other works in the series involve immersing drawings and prints into the beehive, allowing the bees to build comb onto them while also chewing the paper. Many of these works depict a human figure as a botanical illustration, in which the branches move through the body as a vascular system. These serve as allegories of anaphylaxis, in which vessels dilate and blood pressure drops