8 . Multi-species Entanglements, or, How we Become Rapt in Other Lives — with BeeWisdom & Dr. Juniper Harrower

Written By alexa firmenich

“There is a belief system to change about bees that they are constantly busy and making honey. The honey is only a small part of the work of bees on earth.”

- BeeWisdom

“I love dwelling in the slippage between science and mysticism. There’s this incredible space of mystery there.”

- Dr. Juniper Harrower

 

SYNOPSIS:

Today on lifeworlds, we’re going to spend some time with the humming, buzzing, delectable nectar of the bees. Sandira Belia and Annelieke van der Sluijs are beekeepers and co-founders of Bee Wisdom, a platform where beekeepers and bee lovers can learn how to work synergistically with bees. They’re here to unveil the mysterious, inner lives of the bee world. These days, many conversations about bees focus on their collapse, which can obscure and take us further away from the magic and mysteries of the bees. Could we instead learn to ask each other, have you ever been seduced by a bee? By the sounds and smells of the hive? Have you ever been healed by a bee? And how do beekeeping practices change when you start to see the world from the perspective and lifeworlds of the bees?

We then speak with Dr. Juniper Harrower, a scientist who uses her multimedia art practice to investigate the human influence on ecological systems. Juniper is a founding member of the international arts collective The Algae Society Bioart Design Lab, founded the environmental arts production company SymbioArtlab and is the director of the art+science initiative at UC Santa Cruz. With Juniper we explore the theme of entanglement through making art and science with other species. She shows us how art and science can be complementary and yet drastically different helping answer research questions, and describes her current art exhibitions which reveal the secret language of leaves, Joshua Trees, mycorrhizal networks, deep plant evolution and settler culture.

Whether it’s through art, beekeeping, scientific study, or whatever else inspires you, ask yourself, how am I entangled in a web of other lives? How can I deepen this relationship so that it becomes a true collaboration? And have some fun with it. Hopefully today’s guests can inspire that creativity.

 
 

GUESTS BIOS:

Sandira Belia was born in France, from a mother bee-keeper, bathing in the bee world from an early age. Since 2012, she has been exploring the interactions between the spiritual and the practical approaches of bee-keeping. She has learned to communicate with the Deva of the bees, with nature spirits and other presences. Sandra now lives in central Portugal, close to the ocean, and dedicates her life to bridging humans and nature. The bees are her muse, inspiration, and allies in this work. Her book Bee Wisdom: Teachings from the Hive is now available in English.

Annelieke van der Sluijs lives in Portugal and takes care of the bees in the Alentejo BeeGrid, where she plants and sows forest habitat, and thrives as a “weaver” in the BeeWisdom network, endlessly inspired by the artful communion of bees as a colony and with the landscape. Her first BeeShip with Sandira, in 2017, naturally evolved into a collaboration and a living together with the bees.

Specializing in multispecies entanglements under climate change, Dr. Juniper Harrower works at the intersection of ecology, art, activism and policy. A founding member of the international arts collective The Algae Society Bioart Design Lab, she also founded the environmental arts production company SymbioArtlab which contracts with national parks, universities, and the private sector to impact positive environmental change. Her research is published in both science and art scholarly journals and has shaped environmental policy. She is a National Science Foundation iCorps Fellow, an Oakland Teaching Fellow, and a Cota-Robles Fellow dedicated to advancing research for multicultural societies. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and her research and artistic products have received wide exposure in popular media such as National Geographic, Kunstforum International, Atlas Obscura, KCET Artbound, the associated press, podcasts, music festivals and conferences. Harrower founded and directs the Art+Science initiative at UC Santa Cruz to disrupt hierarchies of science hegemony through providing paid arts residencies and mentorship to underrepresented students. She teaches art at both UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz.

QUOTES:

Annalieke & Sandira

  • Many people are very sensitive to bee touch. The bee recalls our thirst for touch and sensuality.

  • There is a belief system to change about bees that they are constantly busy and making honey. The honey is only a small part of the work of bees on earth.

  • The task is to spend time with the hive and follow your curiosity. I give myself time to be with those wonders, and to follow the little golden threads that go out of the hive. When I do so, I learn many things.

  • There such a magic in swarming, the days before are full of joy, you can feel the energy in the hive, they get prepared, even the queen is put on diet so she can be more able to fly!

Juniper

  • I'm trying to create spaces that allow plants and multi-species to tell some of their stories.

  • I love dwelling in the slippage between science and mysticism. The more you look, you think you’re getting closer, but you’re. There’s this incredible space of mystery there.

  • Through embroidering the outside of the plant leaf and working those stitches into the leaf, I was tracing and following the swirls and whirls of deep evolutionary patterns. It was like I was training my hand to speak the language of the leaf.

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