October 14th - November 11th, 2011

The California based photographer, Rose-Lynn Fisher says of her subjects,

“Our most important pollinator, the ultimate synergist, an architect, spacial genius, winged apothecary, and the transmuter of the finest substance of nectar into honey, the honeybee has been revered and utilized by civilizations throughout time.”

Fisher’s reverence for the honeybee is unparalleled as evidenced by her astonishing black and white photographs of ultra close-up images of the anatomy of these magical creatures.  The detail revealed is stunning and surprising.  Magnified sometimes up to 5,000 times in her microscope, the patterns she discovers are otherworldly, more like landscapes than miniatures. Hair and pollen look like forests of trees and boulders through Fisher’s lens – the bee’s abdomen resembles rolling foothills after a forest fire.  The fact that the compound eye of the bee is made up of hexagons mirroring the hexagonal structure of their honeycombs expands our thinking about the natural world.  Our sense of scale is confused and connections of micro and macro are made tangible.

Fisher’s focus is sharp and her images are clean.  The richness of her grey scale, her deep blacks and contrasting whites, subtle warm tones and gentle light, would please any classic photography connoisseur.  There are no extraneous elements in these photographs and they function like powerful abstractions at this scale.  But, that they are images of bees is essential  – there is a message here.

One third of what we humans consume, depends on bee pollination - their plight is deeply connected to ours.  The honeybee population is shrinking fast, having declined 35% from 2006 – 2009, threatened by mites, habitat loss, pesticides and the mysterious colony collapse disorder that has devastated their numbers.  These photographs help us appreciate bees on another -usually unseen - level, through this artist’s sensitive vision. Gaining a deeper understanding of their hidden beauty and structure will no doubt point us towards the direction of conservation. 

“ I offer these photographs in celebration, respect, and gratitude for all that they do and are.” - Rose-Lynn Fisher from her book, “BEE” 2010 Princeton Architectural Press.