BIEN (Sound installation, 2019)
Beehive, 8 contact microphones, barn, 8 body shakers.
A beehive lives in the 1:8 model of a barn. Four contact microphones embedded into the combs register the vibrations of the super organism. The sounds inside the hive are transmitted in realtime into the barn's interior. Twelve body shakers on the corresponding positions transmit the vibrations of the hive into the wooden walls, beams, ceiling and floor. The barn acts as an acoustic model of the hive in the scale of 8:1.
Realized at Klang Moor Schopfe 2019 in Gais, Switzerland.
Design and realization of the model: Anja Schelling, Yvo Corpateaux
Survey and consulation: Johannes Rebsamen (ScanVision)
Bee keeper: Heidi Ziegler, Gais
"You finally hear the bees inside a beehive call and respond – an opulent repertoire" (TAZ)
"The hut becomes a sounding body, the visitor feels like he's in the middle of the beehive." (Tagblatt)
"A crackling or patter can be heard, perhaps as if from a great fire. Not threatening, rather cosy." (Blick)
Realization at Klang Moor Schopfe, 2019
Realization at Archipel Festival, Geneva 2021. Commissioned by Archipel Festival, supported by Pro Helvetia.
Making the contact microphones "bee-proof" through wax
Contact microphone embedded in the hive frame
Bee colony living inside the wooden model
Wooden model in the scale of 1:8, placed in front of the original hut
Body shakers attached to the wood inside the hut
Ludwig Berger and Hedi Ziegler (bee keper), photo by Patrick Kessler