emma herman smith

EMMA HERMAN-SMITH
GAME OVER

Currently the European Honeybee is in crisis, as, globally, populations are collapsing. The importance of this cannot be underestimated. Honeybees are responsible for around 80% of all insect pollination - in turn, about a third of our daily food. As it is, most insect pollinators are also in decline.

A number of environmental factors are considered probable contributors, including air pollution from insecticide and pesticide spraying, the loss of hedgerows and diversity of pollen types, the growing of GM crops, and mobile mast emissions. While research is ongoing and under-funded, it is apparent we must reconsider certain aspects of modern farming practice in order to give us a fighting chance. Bees have evolved with flowers, they are in perfect balance. By creating an environment where neither is able to continue its survival, we are likely looking at our own future, just a short way down the road.

Cupar is surrounded by soft fruit farms which have an increasing importance on the town's economy. Without the honeybee there will be no more fruit (or vegetables, or flowers, or feed for livestock). Scotland is not experiencing the devastating losses that are occuring in America because the scale of agri-business is much smaller here. As the industry grows, however, it is imperative that farmers, bee-keepers, and retailers work together responsibly to ensure a sustainable and successful future. Cupar is in an ideal position to be at the forefront of such developments through researching, understanding and promoting best practice.

This sculptural work, with its inscribed brass epitaph, is the concrete cast of the interior of a WBC beehive, which references Rachael Whiteread's House to denote absence through change, and the loss, forever, of a domestic space once occupied.