the ’temple’ installation is the story of a small swarm of bees that were rescued by multidisciplinary bee-friendly company honeyfingers, from the carpark of a hamburger drive-through in the eastern suburbs of melbourne, australia. it’s also the story of a group of friend; beekeepers, artists, film makers, gardeners, musicians, ceramicists and designers who are all fascinated by the beauty of the honey bee superorganism and the rituals of beekeeping. 

bees find a home in honeyfingers’ triangular 'temple' installation in melbourne
the temple flowers surround the open observation window
all images © janelle low

 

 

honeyfingers‘ ‘temple’ project is about collective curiosity and explorations into connections between honeybees, humans, urban ecology, art, community and food. it is a place devoted to these activities and interests, demonstrating that humans and honeybees can productively and safely live in the same space in urban environments, allowing bees to provide their essential pollination role in urban gardens, urban forests, and the wilds of our urban ecologies.

bees find a home in honeyfingers’ triangular 'temple' installation in melbourne
the honeycombs are suspended by gold chains on a timber frame

 

temple | honey fingers 
video © caitlin shannon & anna downie

bees find a home in honeyfingers’ triangular 'temple' installation in melbourne
‘temple’ with the open observation window and the visible suspended bee colony 

bees find a home in honeyfingers’ triangular 'temple' installation in melbourne
‘temple flowers’ is one of the five ‘temple’ projects and features a showcase of botanicals bees feed
ceramics: zhu ohmu

bees find a home in honeyfingers’ triangular 'temple' installation in melbourne
ceramic vases are made by zhu ohmu during the installation’s building process

bees find a home in honeyfingers’ triangular 'temple' installation in melbourne
details of the ‘temple flower’, euryops pectinatus (golden daisy bush)

 

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynn chaya | designboom