Artist Statement
I find bees and beekeeping to be almost Zen-like. There is a sense of heightened awareness for me when I surround myself with bees. They emit a powerful force of living energy. When I am within a swarm, it feels like a thick mass of electricity zipping through the air. They are a collective force, thinking as one for the common good of all. This sense of purpose is what has attracted me to working with bees.
My fascination for bees and beekeeping led me to create my own miniature apiaries. This project is based on a loose narrative that I have developed about the Langstroth Range, an imaginary place located in the Yukon Valley. It is a pseudo garden of Eden; untouched, unexploited, and unexplored. Within this mountainous region there are giant bees, rare flowers, and prehistoric bears.
The Langstroth Range is essentially like a lost world. It is a place that has been left alone by people until one man named William Bjorn discovers the valley. He eventually exploits the area to turn a profit, and this ultimately leads to the giant bees demise. There is a rush to attain the golden honey of these bees, drawing a comparison to the Yukon Gold Rush.
Within the narrative I am exploring how humanity exploits its natural wonders, and often in the end destroys what it has exploited. When there is nothing left to exploit it destroys our kinship with nature and the environment. I believe that this sets us alone and apart until we are left with nothing both physically, and spiritually.
Biography
Adam Makarenko was raised in the land of caribou bones, otherwise known as Atikokan. During his youth, Atikokan was coated in red ore dust, and boasted two of the largest ore mines in the world. It was nestled in the heart of the Northern Ontario wilderness, isolated from the rest of the world. In 1980 the mines shut down, and it was at that point when Adam began to nurture his artistic ideas by exploring fields of endless moss, muddy swamps, thick boreal forests, and abandoned open pit mines.
Adam’s work draws on the influences of science, and nature. Cinematic aspects of lighting and colour influence his aesthetic approach. He often explores a narrative style within his photographs, which provides a solid base for the subject matter that is being presented. A common theme that runs through Adam’s work is the human manipulation of nature.
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