“Hive” is a 3D printed sculpture made entirely from plant matter, potato starch and sugar.
It is a commission for “Google” which has just been completed and about to start a world tour before ending up in “Google’s” HQ in California. Before that it is off to Stockholm to go on show with “Bonnier” for a Month.
The piece comprises of split honeycomb dodecahedrons created by calculating data captured from a real beehive.
To make each dodecahedron, the dimensions of the honeycomb (produced by the bees) was measured, with many subsequent drawings and models following. Once a 3D model had been created, a bespoke 3D printer was developed, from scratch, by the artist.
Created by sending lines of “G-Code” from a computer to the 3D printer, each section takes 7 hours to print. G-code is a computer numerical control (CNC) programming language used widely in 3D printing. The printer uses the code to mimic the way the bees create natural honeycomb, building up layers on top of each other. Over 160 million lines of code were produced to create the entire sculpture.
Each dodecahedron is spherically hollow on the inside to allow it to capture the light as it passes through the honeycomb.
The sculpture is intended to reflect the beauty and randomness of nature and takes its inspiration from the precision of the honeycomb as well as the uniqueness of nature. The form interweaves between the complexities of the surrounding Marble run, much in the same way Bee’s build their natural honeycomb in and around the space that is available to them. The structure represents an infrastructure that has barely changes in millions of years and doesn’t need to because it works. It represents the very centre of a community (in this case Bees). It is their nursery, their larder and forms their home. Giving them protection from predators, weather and gives structure and stability to a complicated and busy fraternity.