Wax as a Sundial
by Christina Stadlbauer
For Bees the sun plays an essential role and they use solar orientation for navigating. Honeybees are the only animals that can produce beeswax with their bodies. The bees use wax as main structure for their nest.
Wax as a Sundial is a narrative on the close relationship between the sun and beeswax. It is inspired by the principles of measuring time by observing the movement of the sun in the sky. The daily path of the sun across the sky is recorded on sheets of wax. These recordings are geographically specific and tell of the passing of time.
The collection of the wax sheets creates a palimpsest, called the Sundance Palimpsest.
A timelapse video of the preparations for this installation can be found here.
melliferopolis.net 