This May, award-winning artist and sculptor Wolfgang Buttress is partnering with World Museum, Liverpool to present Bees: A Story of Survival.
Using cutting-edge audio-visual technology, the exhibition explores the lives of bees from across the globe, transporting audiences into their world.
Fusing art, science and technology, the exhibition will lead visitors on a journey through a hive-like space, into the heart of a living colony, immersed in sounds and smells.
Intrigued? You'll have to wait until Saturday 4 May 2024 for the exhibition to open. But to whet the appetite, National Museums Liverpool has released a series of stunning images ahead of the event, which will shed light on the life of bees and the threats they face in the modern world.
Bees: A Story of Survival
Sentinels of the Earth
“Bees can be seen as sentinels of the earth," says award-winning artist and sculptor Wolfgang Buttress.
"They have been around for over 120 million years and are exquisitely tuned to the environment. Their health and wellbeing mirror the health of the Earth and they are dying in unprecedented numbers. Their existential challenges reflect our own – they die and suffer, we die and suffer."
Orchid bee
“This exhibition was imagined to be like no other," says Buttress. "The intention is to create an emotionally engaging and sensory stimulating experience to express the wonder and diversity of bees.
"I want the audience to feel empathy as well as an understanding and appreciation of these incredible creatures. If we love and respect bees a little bit more after seeing this exhibition, then we may well make the earth a better place for them and us to live in.”
African Carpenter bee
Anne Fahy, head of World Museum, says: “An artwork and a science exhibition, Bees: A Story of Survival will push the boundaries of museum interpretation, educating and fascinating through a unique experience, and helping visitors to understand what we all can do to protect these intricate and resilient creatures."
Northern White-tailed bumblebee
“Bees and other pollinators are vital to our planet’s ecosystems and essential to our own lives," adds Fahy. But their existence is under threat. Using World Museum's nationally and internationally important entomology collection, and with the artistic vision of Wolfgang Buttress Studios, we want to shine a light on the plight of bees and the devastating impact a world without bees would have on humanity.”
Orchid bee
When and how to see Bees: A Story of Survival
Bees: A Story of Survival opens at World Museum, part of National Museums Liverpool, on Saturday 4 May 2024. The exhibition runs until Saturday 5 May 2025.
A host of special events from talks with activists and artists, to creative sessions for young people and family friendly activities will accompany the exhibition.
For more information visit: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/bees.
More about bees
Main image credit: Photo by Pete Carr - Render by Battlecat and Wolfgang Buttress Studios
