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Location

Art Hut 1

Directions

Art Hut 1 is located at the front of the Western part of the Sculpture Forest. To Find Art Hut 1:

Walk through the Front Gate at Fleming College towards 01. Homesteaders, Art Hut 1 will be found on this path

If you see 01. Homesteaders, you have walked too far

Seeing the Forest For the Bees

Installation Start:

March 1, 2023

Installation End:

December 31, 2024

Charmaine Lurch

Seeing the Forest For the Bees

These magnified wild bees as wire sculptures, allow the viewer to encounter a fly-by of bees—a reminder to us of our connection to the land, how plants are pollinated and food is produced. Discover Charmaine's work and the magic of how bees hibernate through the winter.

About 75% of North American plant species require an insect—mostly bees—to move their pollen from one plant to another to effect pollination. We are familiar with non-native honeybees, but most pollination is done by wild bees. There are more than 400 kinds of wild bees in Ontario—a third of native bee species are reliant on forest habitat. Wild bees are hard to see unless they've landed on something or they're dead, I wanted for them to be seen and their vital role in our ecosystem recognized. The wire describes a shape, but you can see through it. I thought it would be a perfect way to capture that strength of the structure of the bee and get a sense of that invisibility as they move through space. These magnified wild bees as wire sculptures, allow the viewer to encounter a fly-by of bees—a reminder to us of our connection to the land, how plants are pollinated and food is produced. These bee sculptures invite the viewer to notice, look closer and wonder at the variety and the beauty of bees.


The Sculpture Forest Bee-Making Bee


From June 19th to June 24th and August 21st to 26th, 2023, Charmaine was in residence on the Haliburton School of Art + Design campus and in the Sculpture Forest to work with the community to create the wild bees which were installed in the Sculpture Forest. Over the winter of 2023, Charmaine created the wire armatures of the bees.


Community members were invited to join Charmaine under the big tent at the front of the College to do the wrapping of the bee armatures with coloured wire – turning the wire structures into extraordinary multi-coloured wild bees.


Each week Charmaine offered a workshop about wild bees, their incredible solitary lives and their vital role as a pollinator of plants. Community members worked together to create 4 extraordinary bees.

About the Artist

Charmaine Lurch

Charmaine Lurch is a multidisciplinary artist whose painting, sculpture, and social engagement reveal the intricacies and complexities of the relationships between us and our environments. Her sculptures, and installations contend with what is visible and present in conjunction with what remains unsaid or unnoticed. Lurch applies her experience in community arts and education to create inviting entry points into overwhelmingly complex and urgent racial, ecological, and historical matters.


Lurch holds a Master in Environmental Studies from York University and has completed studies at the Halliburton School of Art + Design, Sheridan College, OCAD University, and the School of Visual Arts (SVA NYC). Lurch has exhibited beyond and throughout Canada, and her works have been acquired by Global Affairs Canada to be exhibited in EXPO 2021 held in Dubai and Canadian embassies and consulates globally.


Website: www.clurch.com

Instagram: @charmaine.lurch

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