Hive

The work hive was commissioned by Bergen City Museum, Alvøen, Bergen, Norway.

The work “Hive” stands over eight meters in height and has a circumference of over four meters when the exposed root system is taken into account. This carefully chosen dead pine tree is located in a forest grove close to the idyllic 18th century environment near Alvøpollen Fjord and to one of Norway’s oldest industrial communities where it stands as a unique contrast to these historical wooden buildings. The work itself has become a landmark in the area and attracts untold numbers of visitors each year.   

As with all my work I’m most interested in ephemerality as a process.           

The inspiration for this work comes from the decaying/decomposition of the past through natural processes especially within the wet western coastal climate. In this coastal area there are any number of organisms that thrive on the mild and humid climate which in turn escalate these natural, aesthetical, decaying processes. The ornamental deconstruction of hive stands as a metaphor to these natural decaying cycles. The resulting alienation and excavated raw material are what give “Hive” its new life.

Location: Bymuseet Alvøen, Bergen
Material: Pine