Paradise Lost

2023

Materials – Honey bee wax, pesticide residues in the honey bee wax (Difenoconazole, Carbaryl, Indoxacarb, Chlorpyrifos, Cyprodinil, Chlorantraniliprole, Trifloxystrobin, Pyraclostrobin, Fluxapyroxad, Metolachlor, Cyantraniliprole, Atrazine, Tebuconazole, Penthiopyrad, Piperonyl butoxide, Thiamethoxam, Methoxyfenozide, Pyrimethanil, Mandipropamid, Picoxystrobin, Azoxystrobin, Tebuthiuron, Propazine, Fluopyram), tinned copper wire, tissue paper, dry ground artists’ pigments, acrylic paints, acrylic varnish.

Dimensions – 7.5 x 7.5 x 8.5cm

Paradise Lost, created using traditional wax model making techniques, has been made from honey bee wax provided by Dr. Scott McArt, Assistant Professor at the McArt Lab, in the Department of Entomology, Cornell University, New York.

The wax, newly produced by bees in their hives during apple pollination, was collected from an orchard in New York State and analysed at the Cornell Chemical Ecology Core Facility. It was found to contain pesticide residues above the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) and the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) acute contact exposure levels of concern for honey bees.

As Paradise Lost contains traces of these agricultural chemicals, they have been listed as artist’s materials.

Wax has been used by artists as a medium in the creation of scientific models for education and teaching since the late 17th century and botanical wax model making reached a height of popularity during the advent of the public museum in the 19th century. The translucency and lifelike quality of the material enabled artists to create realistic and beautiful representations of plants, fruit and fungi for gallery displays, in order to engage visitors with pioneering scientific discovery.

Based on a Gala apple, a popular variety in New York State, the work continues this tradition, aiming to raise awareness of world-leading research into the widespread use of agricultural chemicals and the transfer of these chemicals from agricultural crops to pollinators, promoting discussion on the man-made issues which have contributed to the global decline of pollinating insects.

Paradise Lost is ultimately created in reference to the epic work by English poet John Milton first published in 1667, telling the biblical tale of the Fall of Mankind, the Forbidden Fruit and Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, scenes frequently illustrated by master artists from the past, reinterpreted in this instance in an innovative contemporary way.