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Aganetha was raised in Mennonite family and didn’t enter an artistic career until later after raising a family. This rural upbringing and her experience in a domestic life is a clear influence on her works. Some of Dyck’s earliest work explore traditionally feminine activities and materials such as wool. Her series Close Knit (1975-1981) involved wool clothes purposefully shrunken down in a dryer. Aganetha was the recipient of the Manitoba Arts Award of Distinction and the Canada’s Governor General Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2007. Aganetha Dyck is an acclaimed Canadian artist most known for her transformational sculpture collaborations with honeybees. Her earliest works explore traditionally feminine activities which transformed materials, such as buttons and wool fabrics, into fine art. Examples of such works are Close Knit, which was a series of various wool clothes shrunk down in a dryer completed between 1975-1981. In 1984 Dyck developed a series of buttons prepared and cooked in various culinary methods, which was exhibited in the Winnipeg Art Gallery. In 1989 she began her most notable body of work when she began renting beehives. From 1991 onward her art was almost exclusively focused on her collaboration with the bees. This collaboration involved Dyck placing objects, such as porcelain figurines, women’s shoes and even hockey equipment, into beehives. This allowed the insects to develop their honeycomb structure onto the objects which can sometimes take many years. One well known work by Aganetha, Glass Dress: Lady in Waiting, took 10 beekeeping seasons to be completed. Dyck relays her intent using Bio Art, an art practice where artists work with living organisms and employs scientific processes to produce their work. Her interest in honeybees and appreciation for them was a long process from 1991 to 2010 when she developed allergies and was not able to continue with her practice. Her art practice and research focused not only on her deep appreciation of the honeybees and the beauty of the honeycomb but also on environmental issues. Her hope with the artwork was not only to create an intercommunication between species, but also to encourage people to look at the importance of the work that honeybee’s do and understand the loss should they disappear. Among many talks, symposiums, and discussions, Dyck has been featured in the CBC television show The Nature of Things with David Suzuki. While visiting the AGA in 2014 she participated in a Symposium organized by the AGA which included experts from different fields and a discussion about environment, food resources and sustainability as well as her art practice. Aganetha Dyck was awarded Canada’s Governor General Award in Visual and Media Arts (2007), the Manitoba Arts Council Award of Distinction (2007), Winnipeg’s Art City Star Award (2013), Winnipeg Art Council’s Making a Mark Award (2014). Her work has been shown in hundreds of solo and group exhibitions across Canada and internationally; it can be found in private and public collection across Canada including the Winnipeg Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Canada the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Britain, as well as in the Art Gallery of Algoma’s permanent collection to mention just a few. In the summer of 2014 Aganetha Dyck exhibited Surreal Transformations at the Art Gallery of Algoma. This show included a retrospective of works by Aganetha Dyck as well a collaborative series with her son, artist Richard Dyck. Hive Scans used a flatbed scanner to take images of the bee’s work in progress, and 17 of the works were acquired by the Art Gallery of Algoma for the permanent collection. Aganetha Dyck is an acclaimed Canadian artist most known for her transformational sculpture collaborations with honeybees. Born in Marquette, Manitoba in 1937, she was raised in a Mennonite family. This rural upbringing and her experience in a domestic life is a clear influence on her work. She studied pottery, batik, Salish weaving and Art History at Prince Albert Community College in 1972 after moving to Saskatchewan with her husband and children. She continued her Art History studies in 1980 and 1982 at the University of Winnipeg. In 1989 she began her most notable body of work when she began renting beehives. From 1991 onward her art was almost exclusively focused on her collaboration with the bees. Dyck relays her intent using Bio Art, an art practice where artists work with living organisms and employs scientific processes to produce their work. Her interest in honeybees and appreciation for them was a long process from 1991 to 2010 when she developed allergies and was not able to continue with her practice. Her art practice and research focused not only on her deep appreciation of the honeybees and the beauty of the honeycomb but also on environmental issues. |
Aganetha and Richard Dyck.
Hive Scan 13, 2001-2003
Chromogenic Print.
Collection of the Art Gallery of Algoma.
Gift of the Artist.
Aganetha and Richard Dyck.
Hive Scan 14, 2001-2003
Chromogenic Print.
Collection of the Art Gallery of Algoma.
Gift of the Artist.
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GET INSPIRED
Inspire Others With Bees
Try this creative activity based on the artwork! Share your creations on our Art and Discovery Facebook page.
Aganetha’s work with the bees focused on showing people how important the work they do is. Show your appreciation for the bees by designing a colouring page to share!
SUPPLIES
- Sheet of Paper
- Pencil
- Black Marker or pen
INSTRUCTIONS
- First draw a few sketches of your idea, it’s a good way to get your imagination working and come up with ideas.
- Once you have the idea you like best start to draw using pencil onto your good sheet of paper, take your time and make sure to use the whole page. Remember, since you’re making a page to colour, do not fill in or shade any parts of your drawing.
- Once you are happy with the pencil drawing use your black marker or pen to trace over the whole image to darken it. You can also make some lines thinner and thicker to add more variety to your colouring page.
- Once the ink is dry erase any pencil lines that might still be showing and don’t forget to sign your name on the bottom corner of the page.
Now you’re done! Admire you work and don’t forget to share your creations on our Facebook page so others can admire them too!
Handmade Hive Scans
Try this creative activity based on the artwork! Share your creations on our Art and Discovery Facebook page.
In Hive Scans Aganetha and Richard Dyck took scans of bees working inside their hives. By scanning the beehives, you can see the movement of the bees as they blur and move across the image while they work. Now it’s your turn try your hand at doing some hand-drawn Hive Scans.
SUPPLIES
- Paper
- Pencils, colouring pencils, markers, or crayons
INSTRUCTIONS
- Start by drawing bees on one sheet of paper or printing out a picture of bees (they need to be small enough to fit a couple on a sheet of paper). Try to make your bees in a variety of positions, flying, walking, wings out or wings in.
- Trace your drawn bees with black pen or marker so that they are easier to see.
- Tape the paper with your bees onto a window where you can still reach to draw or onto a light table.
- Take your second paper and lay it on top of the first.
- Using a pencil start to draw the outline of one of your bees. Only draw a small section of your bee then move the top paper so the bee underneath move a little. Continue to draw the rest of your bee based on the new position, repeat this process until you finish the bee. It should look wiggly and weird.
- Do this again for the rest of your bees in different areas of your paper.
- When you’re happy with all your bees, finish your drawing by adding in honeycomb or a beehive as you would normally draw it. You can also add colour!
Now you’re done! Admire your work and don't forget to share your artwork on our Facebook page. We can't wait to see what you create!
