Bill Woodrow

Following an important exhibition of his work at the Tate Gallery, London in 1996, artist Bill Woodrow looked to find a novel concept that would take his work in an exciting new direction. He found the creative inspiration he sought in the concept of beekeeping; Woodrow became absorbed by its related artistic manifestations - from the beekeeper himself to the swarm with its pulsating energy to the safe haven of the hive. The theme preoccupied his work for six years; Woodrow would later move to Hampshire and become a qualified apiarist in a pleasing case of ‘life imitating art’, as the artist himself observed.

Woodrow was compelled by the symbiotic relationship between human and bee: the bees receive shelter and sustenance from their keepers, while the keepers receive honey in return. To Woodrow, it was paradigm of mutual exploitation for equal gain. However, both pose threats to the other and can cause damage and destruction should the relationship break down. In the present sculpture, Woodrow has rendered a swarm – a gathering of bees which only happens at the point of migration, that is to say at the point of severance from the hive. Rockswarm is a model of the nourishing yet fragile relationship between man and other living things: co-dependent and destructive.