*Note: The image above is a screenshot of how the piece was displayed on Manglano-Ovalle’s website, with the caption included.
Immediate Response:
When looking at Beehive Grid, my first thought was imagining how this would tile. As is there are maybe a dozen hives spread throughout the image, but it seems designed to invite the idea that they spread beyond the frame endlessly. Tying in with the idea of the hives spreading was the thought that each hive looks lonely; despite being surrounded by other hives each of them stands alone in their dedicated grid space eternally separated from the others. My final initial thought was about how the work was presented, specifically in how it uses perspective to somewhat hide the grid the hives are laid out in.
Objective Description:
The work is made up of at least 18 identical beehives. Each hive is made up of maple wood stained white, with the chassis being at least 4 vertical panels tall and a having a flat lid which capped off each hive. In terms of layout, the hives are laid out in a grid as shown in the image below, where the white spots are individual hives. In terms of photography, the image was shot from slightly above the hives and slightly rotated from the axis the grid is aligned with. Additionally, the color of the floor in the room is unknown, but the walls appear to be a gray only slightly darker than that of the hives.
Technical Decisions:
In terms of technical presentation, one of the most interesting aspects of the work is how the room the piece is in is hidden. Unlike Roost (from Art Report 1), Beehive Grid’s room is hardly visible, with only bits of the walls being visible past the work ultimately making it feel somewhat claustrophobic and enclosed.
For material choices, at face value it makes perfect sense; real beehives are made of wood, so artistic renderings of them should also do the same. However, the introduction of staining something which involves chemicals potentially harmful to bees is interesting since it somewhat distances the work from what it was based off of.
The Work in the World:
The obvious comparison to be made regarding the work is to actual beehives. The overall look to them is extremely similar, with the notable exceptions of the wood being colored white, and lacking any visible entrance for bees to enter. With so little of the room visible, it is also likely that that there are no flowers (literal or metaphorical) within the area, isolating the hive’s “bees”. Another connection that is brought to mind by the piece is the resemblance to skyscrapers. Like stereotypical skyscrapers, the hives are bland and uniform with each box standing tall and solitary, with the hives only blending together when looking down along the entire “skyline”.
The Story it Tells:
Ultimately, I feel the piece is attempting to draw connections between bees and humans. Much like bees which would inhabit the hives in Beehive Grid, many individuals spend their time crammed into bland buildings, doing menial labor which is individually meaningless, only providing benefit to the unfeeling collective. The grid layout that the hives are laid out in extend this idea. This isn’t a single hive, a single skyscraper. It’s a city of them. Dozens of bland buildings stretching as far as the eye can see, each with thousands of workers doing menial labor for a nebulous purpose that they likely don’t care about.