We Still Carry the Fire is a project about human-fire relationships. It revolves around mobile wood-fired kitchens that provide opportunities for exploring various aspects of cooking using fire. This book/report summarises work with the project carried out between 2012 and 2019. It’s available as pdf, and as a hardcover from Publit.

The Observatory: Art and Life in the Critical Zone revolves around the intricate relationships among humans, animals, plants, earth material, and other forms of life. The exhibition brings together a collection of new and existing artworks by twenty-six artists who, in diverse ways, actively engage with the multifaceted elements present in the “critical zone.” These elements encompass a wide range, spanning from earthworms and oil birds to imagined beach creatures and resilient potatoes, from indigenous landscapes and micro-territories to rainwater and archives of rural-based alternative communities across Europe and West Asia. The artists have employed painting, drawing, video, sculpture, performance, workshops, agriculture, and other means of expression, which will co-exist in a dynamic display at Södertälje konsthall from 23/09 2023 to 05/01 2024.

Artist and researcher Erik Sjödin contributes to the exhibition with the work “Honeybee Brain Model”. “Honeybee Brain Model” is part of an ongoing investigation into similarities and differences between the brains of honeybees and humans. The honeybee brain has a volume of approximately one cubic millimetre and contains about one million neurons. The human brain, in comparison, is more than one million times larger in volume and has almost one hundred thousand times more neurons. Despite its minuscule brain, the honeybee exhibits complex and rich individual and social behaviour, in many ways similar to humans.

The honeybee brain model presented in the exhibition is a physical representation of “Honeybee Standard Brain”, a digital model assembled by the Menzel Group at Freie Universität Berlin from images of honeybee brains taken with confocal microscope. The 3D-printed and hand-painted model is presented in parts, similar to a puzzle. It is not intended as an accurate and complete scientific model, but as an abstract and open-ended entry point into questions about cognition and consciousness in bees, humans, and other beings.

Nine Lectures on Bees. Rudolf Steiner, 1923, p. 12

“For you see, in reality, things go on in the hive in exactly the same way as in the human head, only with a slight difference. In our head, for instance, the substances do not grow to such dimensions. In the human head we have nerves, blood-vessels, and the separately situated round-shaped cells which are always to be found. We have these three varieties of cells in the human head. The nerves consist of separate cells which only do not grow into independent beings because Nature encloses them on all sides; in reality, however, these nerves would like to become little animals. If the nerve-cells of the human head could develop in all directions, under the same conditions as those of the hive, then the nerve-cells would become drones. The blood-cells which flow in the veins would become worker bees; and the single free cells which are, above all, in the centre of the head and go through the shortest period of development, may be compared with the Queen bees.”

Honeybee Democracy. Thomas D. Seeley 2010, p. 217

“It is possible that primate brains and honeybee swarms have independently evolved the same basic decision-making scheme precicsely because it provides a good approximation of optimal decision making. If this hunch is correct, then we are looking at an astonishing convergence in the adaptive design of two physically distinct forms of “thinking machine” – a brain built of neurons and a swarm built of bees.”

Ways of Being, James Bridle 2022, p. 262

“An average swarm of bees weighs around 1.5 kilograms, roughly the same as the human brain. This isn’t the only similarity. The way in which the brain makes decisions, integrating input from multiple senses, closely mirrors the way in which a bee swarm integrates information from multiple individuals. And this kind of integration turns out to be the best way of choosing between multiple competing options, as close as we know how to get optimal decision making.”

Bilderna ovan är från workshoppen “Våra vänner pollinatörerna” i anslutning till utställningen “Klimatkonst – Alternativa perspektiv” på konsthallen Chappe i Ekenäs i Finland, juni 2023. Våra vänner pollinatörerna är en workshop för alla åldrar med fokus på att konstruera bostäder för pollinerande insekter. Studier har visat att vilda pollinatörer som solitärbin, humlor och fjärilar är avgörande för effektiv pollinering av matgrödor och vilda blommor. Tyvärr är många arter av vilda pollinatörer hotade eller på väg att försvinna helt. En av flera faktorer som bidrar till nedgången av vilda pollinatörer är brist på bra boplatser.

Mer information om att bygga bostäder för pollinatörer finns här och i boken Våra vänner pollinatörerna.

Gemenskapspraktik / Erik Sjödin participates in Climate Art – Alternative Approaches at Chappe Art Museum with the projects The Political Beekeepers’ Library, Honeybee Standard Brain, Bee Shed, and Our Friends The Pollinators.

Climate Art – Alternative Approaches is an exhibition curated by Pia Hovi at Chappe Art Museum in Ekenäs. With artist Saara Alhopuro, Caracara Collective, Tanja Marjaana Heikkilä, Julia Lohmann, Mia Makela, N55 / ion Sørvin & Till Wolfer, Erik Sjödin, Studio Hendrikx (Bob Hendrikx), Superflex, Katja Syrjä, The Sustainable Darkroom (Hannah Fletcher, Noora Sandgren & Alice Cazenave), Jyrki Tsutsunen & Tatu Rönkkö.

The exhibition uses art and design to introduce a cultural perspective on ecological reconstruction. Its leading theme is fostering a more symbiotic relationship that is generated through the connection between people and extends to other species and the planet. The participants of the exhibition are artists and designers who, together, endeavour to offer alternative and constructive perspectives on the dystopic way of thinking that often prevails in climate change art.

The Political Beekeepers’ Library (2015) is an effort to collect, organise and activate books where parallels are drawn between how bees and humans are socially and politically organised. The books in the library show a development in the honey bee hive from the hive being a society ruled by a strong male leader, to being a monarchy with a queen, to eventually being some sort of democracy where decisions are taken collectively.

In this climate change context, the library can hopefully inspire more functional forms of democracy. This should be good for both people and the environment as dictatorship and climate care don’t seem to go hand in hand.

Honeybee Standard Brain (2022) is part of an ongoing investigation into similarities and differences between the brains of honeybees and humans. The 3D-printed and hand-painted wooden sculpture presented in the exhibition is a physical representation of the “Honeybee Standard Brain”, a digital model assembled by the Menzel Group at Freie Universität Berlin from images of bee brains taken with a confocal microscope. The scientific model serves as a virtual atlas to regions in the honeybee brain. The representation of the model presented here is, as an artwork, intended as an open-ended entry point into questions around cognition and consciousness in humans and nonhumans. The model is displayed in parts, sort of as a puzzle.

Perhaps, in essence, climate change is the result of needs and wants that our brains are part of shaping and expressing. Maybe, if we can understand more about how our brains work, we can deal with climate change better.

The Bee Shed (2017 – ) is a simple structure, resembling a wood shed, which functions as a nesting place for solitary bees. At Chappe a bee shed will be installed in the garden next to the museum. The bee shed at Chappe is being built by a local carpenter from recycled material. In the museum shop and at bibod.gemenskapspraktik.se there’s a booklet with instructions for how to build and maintain a bee shed or similar nesting place for solitary bees.

Building a bee shed can be a fun activity and a positive contribution to the local ecology. However, what really can make a difference for bees and biodiversity has to do with how we do agriculture, forestry, and city planning etc on larger scales. There is some information about this in the booklet too. What’s good for biodiversity is generally also good for the climate.

Our Friends The Pollinators (2012 – ) is a workshop for kids, youths and adults to learn how to build homes for pollinators such as honey bees, bumble bees and solitary bees. At Chappe there will be a workshop on how to build nests for solitary bees out of reed, birch bark and other organic materials. The workshop will be held on June 17 2023.

Climate Art – Alternative Approaches is open from April 16 to September 3 2023, at Chappe Art Museum in Ekenäs, Finland.

“Pyrocene proposes a fire-centric perspective on how humans continue to shape the Earth. It renames and redefines the Anthropocene according to humanity’s primary ecological signature, which is our ability to manipulate fire.”

“The first species to be domesticated was not a species at all but a peculiar process, a reaction that was not alive but came from the living world and so had some of its properties. It was a model for what followed. To domesticate a species was to bring it into the domus of a shared fire.”

“In a fire age we can expect big geographic shifts, an expansion of the dominion of fire, rises in sea level, mass extinctions, all amid a radical reconstitution of climate as fire makes a world more favourable to fire. In truth climate history has become a sub narrative of fire history.”

Samtal kl 14 -15, workshop 15-16
27 augusti 2022

I utställningen Waggle Dance, presenterar konstnären Erik Sjödin arbeten om bin och människor. Den 27 augusti kl 14 -15:30 får ni höra Erik berätta mer om The Political Beekeeper’s Library, en samling böcker där paralleller dras mellan hur människor och bin är socialt och politiskt organiserade, samt Honeybee Brain Model, en modell av en honungsbihjärna som belyser likheter och skillnader mellan honungsbiets och människans hjärnor.

Efter samtalet fikar vi och sedan bjuds barn med medföljande föräldrar in till workshop tillsammans med Erik. Workshopen följer på Eriks tidigare workshop “Våra vänner pollinatörerna” där vi byggde bostäder för solitärbin och förodlade blommande växter för pollinatörer och växtfärgning. I workshoppen kommer blommor från odlingarna att användas för att färga in garn till garnblommor. Barn från 4 år är välkomna att delta och lära sig att göra garnblommor, samt ta med sig en burk hem med sitt eget färgningsexperiment.

Erik Sjödin är en konstnär boende i Hökarängen som bland annat arbetar tematiskt med bin och andra pollinatörer. Utställningen Waggle Dance och odlingarna utanför konsthallen är en del av Sånger till Hökarängen, ett projekt som frågar sig hur ett grannskap kan återupptäcka dolda offentliga utrymmen där subjektiva upplevelser kan delas kollektivt.

Läs mer om utställningen Waggle Dance här.

Projektet Waggle Dance på Konsthall C för samman flera arbeten om människor och bin.

Den politiska biodlarens bibliotek är ett arbete med att samla in, organisera och presentera böcker där paralleller dras mellan hur människor och bin är socialt och politiskt organiserade. Bin är ett av de djur det skrivits mest om och har i omfattande utsträckning förekommit i filosofin och litteraturen. Titlarna i biblioteket tecknar ett fascinerande narrativ som tar sin början i Aristoteles Historia Animalium (Djurens naturhistoria) (300-talet f.Kr.), via Charles Butlers The Feminine Monarchy (1609) fram till Thomas D. Seeleys Honeybee Democracy (2010). Vad som börjar som en historia om patriarkal monarki slutar i en berättelse om radikal demokrati.

Modell av en honungsbihjärna är del av en pågående undersökning av honungsbiets hjärna samt likheter och skillnader med den mänskliga hjärnan. Den 3D-printade trämodellen som presenteras i utställningen är en fysiks representation av “Honeybee Standard Brain”, en digital model sammansatt av Menzel Neurobiology group vid Frie Universität Berlin från bilder av bihjärnor tagna med konfokalmikroskop. Forskarnas model är tänkt som ett verktyg för att jämföra former och strukturer i honungsbihjärnan och för att relatera dessa till funktionella egenskaper. Representationen av modellen i utställningen är presneterad i delar, som ett pussel, och tänkt som en abstrakt och öppen ingång till frågor om kognition och medvetande i bin, människor och andra varelser.

På en obrukad yta bakom konsthallen improviserades odlingar i pallkragar med blommande växter för pollinatörer och växtfärgning. Förhoppningen är att mer genomarbetade och permanenta strukturer för odling ska ersätta pallkragarna framöver.

I workshoppen Våra vänner pollinatörerna byggde barn och vuxna bostäder för solitärbin. Workshop deltagarna gjorde också krukor av tidningspapper och sådde frön som förodlades i konsthallen och planterades i odlingarna utanför konsthallen senare på våren. Mot slutet av sommaren anordnades en till workshop där deltagarna lärde sig att göra garnblommor och att färga garn med blommor från odlingarna bakom konsthallen.

Utställningen och odlingarna är en del av Sånger till Hökarängen, ett projekt som frågar sig hur ett grannskap kan återupptäcka dolda offentliga utrymmen där subjektiva upplevelser kan delas kollektivt. Tack till Konsthall C, Stockholmshem och curator Ulrika Flink.

As a part of the course Outlooks at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design, students in Interior Architecture and Furniture Design participated in a workshop in how to make nest for solitary bees and received a tour of the studio collective Slakthusateljéerna and presentations of the projects The Political Beekeeper’s Library, Honeybee Brain Model and Bee Shed.

Our Friends The Pollinators (Våra vänner pollinatörerna) is a workshop and pedagogical activity that has been recurring in various forms over the past ten years.

[Våra vänner pollinatörerna, Hästa gård 2012]

The idea when the workshop was first done was to expand from work engaging with honey bees and their troubles, to include solitary bees which, as species, actually are more threatened. The idea was also to make a fun and educational activity for both kids and adults that can inspire environmentally positive activities and develop practical skills. Since then the workshop has happened a number of times in various contexts, from being a “summer job” activity with youths, to a short course with university students in architecture and design, and as part of programmes connected to exhibitions in art spaces.

[Våra vänner pollinatörerna, Lötsjön 2018]

During the years the workshop has evolved to be more pedagogical for people of all ages and more manageable for the facilitator. Since building nests for solitary bees has become a quite popular activity and is promoted by many environmental organizations, I’d like to share some experiences that may be useful for others who do workshops in building nests for solitary bees.

This is not intended as in-depth workshop instructions but are hopefully some useful takeaways:

• Reed is a great material to use for making nests for solitary bees. Reed can be cut with regular scissors so that one end of the piece is plugged by a “node” and the other end is open. This is perfect for solitary bees because some species need holes that are at least ten centimeters in depth to lay eggs that produce both male and female bees, and the bees prefer holes they can’t see through. A bundle of ten such reed straws is great because it gives a female solitary bee plenty of space to lay her eggs in during the summer. Reed is also easy to collect, where it grows there usually grows a lot.
• A large bundle of reeds can also be used as a prop to “set the stage” for the workshop. Arranging various workshop materials in a fun way draws participants into the workshop and makes for nice documentation pictures which can further inspire people.
• The reed can be bundled together with string. You can also roll the reed in f.ex wellpapp or birch bark if you want to add more “work” to the workshop. Wellpapp is easy to work with even for kids and can be painted on. Birch bark needs to be cut with secateurs or knife, so it’s more for youths and adults, but working with birch bark is a fun sloyd activity.
• Painting the nest with finger paint is probably of no use to the bees, but it could theoretically help them find their nest faster, and painting the nest it’s often the most fun part for people. If the finger paint is nontoxic then  it doesn’t harm the bees or people. But toxic paints should be avoided.
• Deep holes drilled in wood are great for bees to live in, but it requires long wood drills, which can be difficult to find. And power tools require very careful attention and guidance if kids are involved. However, giving youths freedom to use power tools can be very exciting and engaging for them.
• Making a nest for bees can be a great exercise in balancing aesthetics (from a human perspective) and function (from the bees’ perspective). A nest that looks appealing to humans might not be at all functional for bees.
• Making nests for solitary bees works. Chances that bees inhabit them are quite high. But it’s important to place nests properly. This means placing them in a warm and sunny spot, in a secure way so they don’t blow away, and preferably not easily  accessible for birds who may pick the nest apart and eat bee larvae. If the nests have been made with well papp and / or painted with water based paint they also need to be sheltered from rain. Chances that bees find them increase if there are flowering plants nearby.
• In the spring female solitary bees start to look for hollow plant stems and holes made by other insects in wood to lay their eggs in, and they work all summer laying eggs in the holes they find. Solitary bees develop from eggs, to larvae, to pupae, to bees, during autumn to spring. So the nests need to be put out in the spring / early summer and stay in the same location until at least the next spring. It’s less abstract for the participants if they are shown some illustrations or photos of how for example mason bees and leaf cutter bees nest, their life cycles and how the bees look.
• Avoid using non biodegradable materials such as plastic that may become litter that is harmful for the environment. And avoid using toxic paints that may be harmful for bees and people.
• Making nests for solitary bees likely does not make any difference for bees on a species level. It’s an activity which, if done well is educational and helps a few bees. However, if the wrong materials are used it could actually be counterproductive from an environmental perspective.
• Many “bee hotels” for solitary bees that can be purchased are designed wrongly, with f.ex. not deep enough  holes or too wide hole diameters, and many are “made in china” and imported. They are more examples of the problems than solutions.
• What actually matters to bees are things such as less monocultures and less use of pesticides in agriculture, more meadows, and more and wilder parks and gardens.
• Kids need to learn by playing and having fun, and not be put off by all the troubles of the world. But if the point of the workshop is to do something that makes a difference for bees then youths and adults ought to be informed about what the actual troubles and solutions are. To avoid disappointment it’s also important to share that there is no guarantee that a nest for bees will be inhabited. If the nest isn’t inhabited or if the nest breaks or is damaged then it can still be an experience to learn from.