Hive Head

2019, 2’ x 1’ x 6’

bronze, beeswax, honeycomb, honey, cement, glass

There are many iterations of The Green Man in Western European Cultures. Found in architectural embellishment, he has been rendered in iron for hundreds of years. A male face is depicted surrounded by lush vegetation and is made seemingly wise through the addition of wrinkles and a beard.

 

One such variation on The Green Man Myth is the Celtic god Cernunnos. Legend tells of his yearly cycle of personal growth: he is brash and cruel in summer, reflective in the autumn, repenting in the isolation of winter, and apologetic and kind through spring. He grows and falters through his own arrogance and forgetfulness, but is also emblematic of a flawed, but honest masculinity.

 

Female deities are rarely allowed such duality of nature, instead being corralled into singular depictions of either sweetness or shrew, but never both. Hive Head is such an emblem; femininity as busy and crowded buzzing, but capable of sweet production.

Her eyes are closed in a moment of self-collection as her mind buzzes, alive with production and the promise of sweetness if only one can wait out the chaos. She has no season, as collection and production happen simultaneously, forever. She rests as she works for the thoughts return as bees to the hive and hungry bodies must eat. Raw honeycomb is her lipstick and sweet nothings are collected beneath her as she drips. A kiss is nourishment and pleasure; so too is reassurance and meditation.

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What Am I to Make of This?