<h1 class="left">There’s a statue of a horse that stands, weathered and ceremonial, beside a beekeeper, who could also be a priest—the person bent towards a beam of light, presumably at work. (The horse is there as a protective spirit, a common practice throughout Tamil Nadu). In another image a bee appears, and disappears, in a cluster of honeycombs. The composition is the same as the creature, curious and alive.</h1>
<h1 class="left">The photos are part of a series by NY-based photographer Laurie Bartley, offering a glimpse into the work of bees and beekeepers in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. His work is attuned to the hushed, collective hum of a beehive, and appreciative of the human (and nonhuman) labour behind it—at the center is the relationship between bees and beekeepers, the result of centuries of coexistence, and codependence.</h1>
<h1 class="left">There’s also a religious current, in conversation with regional cultures. In Hinduism, bees are thought of as sacred creatures, seekers of spiritual knowledge (which is referred to in the Chandogya Upanishad as a “nectar” of sorts). Bartley's work explores the moments that become, if not explicitly religious, somewhat ritualistic—the boy in the beekeeper’s suit, the clusters of bees, the hands that hold, almost reverent, the beehives.</h1>
<h1 class="left">When put together they present the portrait of a cultural landscape, and of the photographer himself—we’re left with the sense that his own beliefs don’t so much shape the work as come forth from it.</h1>
<h1 class="left">Seen in the Banner: Beekeeper Vishnu Chettipalayam Manoharan investigates bees that have set-up home in an Ayannar (Demi God) terrecotta horse</h1>
<h1 class="full">There’s a statue of a horse that stands, weathered and ceremonial, beside a beekeeper, who could also be a priest—the person bent towards a beam of light, presumably at work. (The horse is there as a protective spirit, a common practice throughout Tamil Nadu). In another image a bee appears, and disappears, in a cluster of honeycombs. The composition is the same as the creature, curious and alive.</h1>
<h1 class="full">The photos are part of a series by NY-based photographer Laurie Bartley, offering a glimpse into the work of bees and beekeepers in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. His work is attuned to the hushed, collective hum of a beehive, and appreciative of the human (and nonhuman) labour behind it—at the center is the relationship between bees and beekeepers, the result of centuries of coexistence, and codependence.</h1>
<h1 class="full">There’s also a religious current, in conversation with regional cultures. In Hinduism, bees are thought of as sacred creatures, seekers of spiritual knowledge (which is referred to in the Chandogya Upanishad as a “nectar” of sorts). Bartley's work explores the moments that become, if not explicitly religious, somewhat ritualistic—the boy in the beekeeper’s suit, the clusters of bees, the hands that hold, almost reverent, the beehives.</h1>
<h1 class="full">When put together they present the portrait of a cultural landscape, and of the photographer himself—we’re left with the sense that his own beliefs don’t so much shape the work as come forth from it.</h1>
<h1 class="full">Seen in the Banner: Beekeeper Vishnu Chettipalayam Manoharan investigates bees that have set-up home in an Ayannar (Demi God) terrecotta horse</h1>