Lasse-Marc Riek

In their diligent search for food, bees transfer pollen, playing a crucial role in the pollination of plants. These industrious insects are responsible for almost 80 per cent of the reproduction of wild and cultivated plants. So it is all the more worrying that their buzzing and humming is getting fainter and fainter. Wild bees are critically endangered worldwide. Their acute decline is partly due to the excessive use of insecticides and the spread of modernised agricultural landscapes, which are shrinking the bees' natural habitat. Lasse-Marc Riek has dedicated a sound composition to the bee as the most important pollinating insect. For his walk-in fixed media installation he made recordings in the "Palmengarten" and the "Botanischer Garten" in Frankfurt. (Translated from the original text by Dr. Nadja Tomoum)

Many thanks to Dr Nadja Tomoum, Antonio and Moses from the Bienenbotschaft, Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Christian Winter, the team at the Botansicher Garten, Johannes Braun (photos) and of course the bees!

The work will be presented as a fixed media installation in the Schmetterlingshaus as part of the exhibition "Verspielt? - Roulette mit der Insekten- und Pflanzenwelt" at the Palmengarten, Frankfurt/M. from 18 July to 6 October 2024.

 
Interview: Nature meets Art with Lasse-Marc Riek - Podcast Special #4, Palmengarten Frankfurt. In conversation with Patricia Germandi (Palmengarten) Film by Johannes Braun (Palmengarten) 12 min. (German)