BEEPOD 


A culture of abundance.
As urban dwellers we tend to have a sentimental view of nature. Nature is the other. Beyond the horizon. If it ours, it’s a garden, or a farm for the weekends. Regardless it is framed within a window. And we are on the other side viewing it. Even if we do understand it as rich and full of wealth, it's entirely separate from what we sustain and create, as wealth. And the measure of this wealth is based on how nature can sustain us. And the entire worth of the natural world rests on how it furnishes our existence.  

Bees in a way are tightly tied up with the larger economy of our existence, playing a vital role (through pollination) sustaining the whole planet’s ecosystems. And then there is the honey. The rich gold they hold in honeycombs.

I am fascinated by nature that we cannot access. It's abundance that does not rest on furnishing our existence. That is to me,  is the culture of abundance. The creation of wealth that one does not use and cannot use. With Beepod I wanted to make an installation that acts as an arena, that is living and creating beyond my involvement. The structure is built to house bees. As a womb for inaccessible honey. Its nature as energy and struggle that exists without making any promises to us. I am interested in the beauty that is encountered in that fearsomely indifferent natural context.


BeePod (an ongoing project)            
Hollow terracotta structures created specifically for bees. Once installed the pods can not be opened and the honey cannot be harvested. The structures are designed based on the information given by beekeepers. They are installed within art spaces and outside of them where people can view the structure away from any intended context. The aim is to create living breathing installations that are closely related to the natural world around them.  

studiosmu@gmail.com
India