Beehave by Marlene Huissoud

'Beehave' beehive sculpture designed by Marlene Huissoud and produced by Benchmark from red oak, 2019. The beehive resembles an animal with four legs supporting a log. A 'lid' at one end can be removed to give access. The surface is carved, scorched and coated with propolis.

‘Beehave’ forms part of a group of works commissioned by London cultural leaders as part of the London Design Festival in 2019. Director of the Science Museum Group, Sir Ian Blatchford, was invited to commission a work to be made from wood by Benchmark, using American red oak donated by American Hardwood. With the choice of a beehive, Sir Ian was paired with French artist Marlene Huissoud.

Huissoud is an artist and experimental designer interested in how we work with natural resources. She has been named as one of the UK’s top 70 rising design stars by the Design Council. In 2014, while studying on the MA Material Futures at London’s Central Saint Martins’ School of Art and Design she developed the project 'From Insects', an exploration of insect materials from the common honeybee and the Indian silkworm. Responding to Sir Ian’s commission, Huissoud looked to the thousand-year history of beekeeping, designing a traditional tree trunk hive, rather than the more industrial nineteenth century design with which we are familiar. It has the feel of a wild animal arrested in motion. The inside of the trunk is left empty for the bees to build their frames, and a removable door for access also has a small bee entrance. The wood is hand carved and scorched then varnished inside and out with propolis, a resinous material produced by bees to seal the hive. This protects the timber while also attracting bees.