By Margherita Cole on January 15, 2021
“Eternity,” natural beeswax, wood, glass, Cor-ten steel, 2019-20. (Photo: Titia Hahne)
The
bust of Nefertiti commemorates one of the most famous figures of Ancient Egypt, who reined alongside the pharaoh Akenaten during a tumultuous religious upheaval. Inspired by the long-lasting legacy of this monumental sculpture, the Netherlands-based artist Tomáš Libertíny spent two years building a “new queen.” He began by constructing a 3D model of the original bust before introducing the assistance of 60,000 bees which brought the piece to life.
“The two-year-long process had two stages,” Libertíny explains to My Modern Met. “First, it was shown at Kunsthal in Rotterdam in the summer of 2019 as a live installation where visitors had the chance to observe the process of bees building the artwork at the museum.” During this time, the bee colony occupied the empty frame and added honeycomb and beeswax, slowly giving the sculpture shape. The following year, the bust was completed outdoors in Slovakia and exhibited as part of Libertíny's solo show