This Artist Collaborates With Bees To Build Intricate World Maps

While most artists work in the medium of metal, canvas, or stone. But Ren Ri isn’t most artists.

A new exhibit at Hong Kong’s Pearl Lam Galleries displays Ren’s skill in the unique medium of beeswax. Yuansu I: The Origin of Geometry is a series of intricate maps, created in collaboration with the insects themselves.

Japan

France

Indonesia and Malaysia

Russia

Also featured in this exhibit are pieces from Yuansu II, in which Ren has created a series of stunning geometrical sculptures by manipulating bee behavior.

Ren begins by places a queen bee in the middle of a box, while the worker bees start to build natural beehives around her. Every seven days, a reference to the seven days of creation, Ren randomly changes the position of the box, like rolling dice, to create a new living object.