Annemarie Maes starts June with an immersive performance at the Palais de Tokyo followed by an installation at the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles/Paris.

As part of the performance program during the exhibition Reclaim the Earth, Annemarie Maes transforms the spaces of the Palais de Tokyo into a laboratory, combining an artistic and scientific approach. The starting point for A Bee is a Bee is a Bee is the research of two major scientists on the world of bees: Karl Von Frisch and François Huber. Through a poetic narrative, the artist leads us into an animal world with a finely organized social structure. Maes creates a symphony of the five senses. In the delicate notes of beeswax, floral perfumes, propolis and honey, the performers move through the darkened space, and mark their work area following the flight lines communicated to them by the foraging bees. The sound that fills the space provides a buzzing background, as the recordings were captured during long-term observations inside the hive and turned into a composition with some electronic touches.

The project is realized in collaboration with Guerlain Paris and supported by the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles. The latter also shows an olfactory installation by Maes during the last collective exhibition before extensive renovation works, Les Heures Sauvages. HORTUS CONCLUSUS: I sing to you about flowers and colors and smells is an immersive multimedia installation and part of the long term research project ‘Bee Agency’. The soundscape is a mix of field recordings made in the beehives of the artist and electronics. The installation is working on all senses with a focus on smell using
‘The Smell of the Hive’, the fragrance that is also used in the performance at the Palais de Tokyo. Imagine the sensual smell of a beehive in summer, the unique scent of this super organism: bubbling with activity, the warmth of many bodies crawling over each other with the delicate aromas of flowers, wax, propolis and honey.

A Bee is a Bee is a Bee – durational performance

Palais de Tokyo, 13 – avenue du Président Wilson – 75116 Paris

Friday 3 June from 6-9pm

Info & tickets

Les Heures Sauvages – group exhibition

Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles/Paris – 127-129 rue Saint-Martin – 75004 Paris

Opening Friday 10 June until Sunday 19 June

Info