Here's a piece that I wrote to accompany John Stark's exhibition Apiculture in 2011, and which appeared in the exhibition catalogue.Below is one of the paintings, showing bee hives and apiarists in a serene yet ominous landscape; another key piece in the exhibition was a portrait called The Shepherd. I wrote several pieces, and together with John edited these to create one that worked with the whole collection of paintings.
Theirs is the model. We only follow, whispering the spell of calm, stilling the brilliant air. We study the hum, the drone, the comb.
We take just enough. The Shepherd guides us in this; he will lead the dance when it comes. In the vision he will eat comb straight from the hive, golden honey will coat his lips, his tongue, and his cheeks. His honeyed eyes will see colours we have never known; the world will be a kaleidoscope of gold.
Already he feels the drone in his bones. He shows us where to tend each day. Our homes are ready for them, our palaces fit for gold-fed queens. We will serve and that will be enough.
