Work of art for a local health centre in a new location in Ghent

Every beehive is a world on its own, just like every human being. There is not one world that is the same, not one human being that is the same. At the end of the twentieth century a lot of artists were active as bee-keepers. The important German artist Joseph Beuys often referred to the animal world and not in the least to the honey of bees. Just like them I consider a beehive as the embodiment of a utopian world. It is a longing for a society that takes care of everybody. It is a search for a balance within different groups of society, a demand for tolerance, a request for engagement.

The commotion due to the nature of this institution and the fact that the place is a crossroads between different cultures and communities has been the inspiration for the ‘beehive culture’, the two panoramas and the ears in the different rooms.

Sixteen ears spread all over the building

‘‘(F)luisterschelpen’ (‘Whispering/listening shells’): a complementary work that binds itself to the spaces and to the spectator/visitor. This ‘listening ear’ is not only a listening out of reason but also with the heart. Different ensembles of ears are attached to the wall all over the building to externalize this thought to the visitor, the doctor, the nurse, the patient.

'Bijenweg' (‘Bees way’): digital panorama on the wall (II). 5m x 1m.

On the ground floor and the first floor there are two panoramas in colour of 5 metres long. They are elongated pictures of a landscape with countless beehives and residents from the neighbourhood of ‘De Sleep’ who are looking at this special event. They are standing with their back towards us. They are all persons from different cultures who have something to do with ‘De Sleep’ as local residents or possibly as patients. For example a child from a mixed marriage and a Flemish schoolmistress, who taught in a school nearby, are portrayed.