The Lives of Animals

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“It is true that animals are usually not able to participate in their liberation, but they behave differently when they are liberated and have better living conditions.”
— Speaking Beyond Language: Lin May Saeed Interviewed

Anne Marie Maes

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08 June - 22 September 2024
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Anne Marie Maes is a Belgian artist and researcher. Her work includes organic sculptures, prototypes and documenta­tion. Since 2008, she has been studying how honeybees function in relation­ship to the environment they live in. In an open-air laboratory on her roof in Brussels, she makes intelligent beehives where she analyses the behaviour of the bees without disturbing the colony. The Guerilla Beehive (2017–2019) is an example of an organic beehive of this kind that runs on solar energy. When the colony dies out or goes elsewhere, the hive turns into compost. With care for the future and a love of small lifeforms, Maes analyses the beauty, fragility and complexity of nature. 

In BEE AGENCY (2008 – ongoing), Maes calls for us to see the honeybee as a free species again. The installation shows work from her open research and talks about the effects of domestication on bees. The pressure humans put on bees causes them stress and weakens their immune system, right at the time when invasive non-native species such as the Varroa mite and Asian hornet are threatening their existence. Bees are essential for the pollination of the fruit and vegetables that feed us. In BEE AGENCY, Maes advocates restor­ing the bees’ autonomy and cultivat­ing a form of collaboration with these intelligent insects. 

Guerrilla Beehive (project: BEE AGENCY), 2017–2019
© image: M HKA

Exhibited works: 

365 days (project: BEE AGENCY), 2013–2014
Exoskeleton (Bee Skeleton) (project: BEE AGENCY), 2018
Glossa (Bee Tongue) (project: BEE AGENCY), 2018
Guerilla Beehive (project: BEE AGENCY), 2017–2019
Courtesy Anne Marie Maes

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