Knots + Surfaces

In Knots + Surfaces Diana Thater follows mathematician Barbara Shipman into the six-dimensional spatial world of bees, which they create by dancing out directions for their hive-mates. Thater translates this abstract model of space in her installation, incorporating into it her observations and representation of the species. Broken up by the architecture, the hexagonal form of the hive appears as a formal reference in the five-part projection. She then places a flower opposite the wall of 16 monitors showing the dancing movements of the bees, as the destination their directions might be indicating. In the space of the installation, in which we are completely immersed, observing our own movements and how our shadows become part of the display, Thater creates a complex picture of the relationship between animal and human, of nature as cultural representation.