Pascal Schwaighofer: Honey Gimmicks

Frictions and contradictions are pivotal to Pascal Schwaighofer’s artistic research. His multimedia and interdisciplinary practice addresses the deeply rooted dicotomy of culture and nature in Western knowledge production. His work offers (aesthetic) forms of reflection that allow to acknowledge the material and conceptual conflicts of environmental existence—an “ecocritical encounter with negativity.”[1] Drawing on a broad spectrum of literary, scientific, and philosophical references as well as technically demanding work processes, he develops multi-layered sculptures, videos, and performances. In the light of today's ecological and social crises, they provide thought-provoking impulses and ideas for rethinking the reciprocal relationship between humans and nature and offer a counter-narrative to the anthropocentric colonial paradigm.

Under the title Honey Gimmicks, Schwaighofer presents a series of new glass sculptures and two new videos in which he explores the economies and ecologies of honey and glass. Based on his dissertation in comparative literature on the modern Western fascination with honeybees, the artist brings together the topics of his doctoral thesis and his multidisciplinary art practice by exploring the technique and processes of glassmaking.

The exhibition examines heuristically the extractive logic of sand mining and bee culture, starting from the visual correspondence of amber-colored glass and honey. Although separate, the two economies share the shortcomings of extraction, which Schwaighofer investigates audio-visually and spatially, offering new perspectives on glass production, beekeeping and the intertwining of the industrial output and domestication. Earlier works, created between 2012 and 2020, complete the presentation and provide a comprehensive insight into the artist’s work.

What do honey and bees have in common with glass and sand?

The symbolism attributed to bees is rich and manifold, showing significant variation across different cultures and belief systems. They are associated with industriousness, cooperation, and productivity. As complex and well-organized organisms, beehives have often been used as a model for an orderly and efficient society. Despite, or because of these commonplaces, bees are among the most exploited working animals. They provide honey, wax, and even venom, which are used extensively in various industrial and commercial fields, including food, medicine, and cosmetics. Yet, since bees are also responsible for the pollination of numerous species of plants, they are systematically deployed for agro-industrial crop pollination. The societal attitude that considers pollination as a “side effect” of their industriousness not only legitimizes the exploitation of bees but also perpetuates the illusion of our harmonious coexistence with nature. Is this a pleasant and refined explanation, or rather a honey-sweet mind trick with a bitter aftertaste? A fascinating honey gimmick, as the title suggests.

Sand is a vital resource, essential for both the construction industry and the manufacturing of everyday products and materials. In addition to glass and concrete, sand can also be found in soaps and cleaning agents; in its refined form of silicon, it is an integral part of microchips and other electronic devices. Glass fibers are used in a wide range of end products, including insulation materials, textiles and fiber optic cables. It has been estimated that 40 billion tons of sand are mined worldwide every year, which is roughly twice the amount that rivers transport to the coasts each year. No other raw material is mined in such large quantities as sand, which exemplifies the ruthless exploitation of the planet.

Schwaighofer’s new body of work approaches honey production and sand extraction, examining the extractive logic that shapes and orients the two different economies and ecologies. Through unexpected connections, the artist challenges the conventional framing of work, representation, and ecology, inviting to reflect on the limits of resources, the entanglements with the more-than-human, and the paradoxes of environmental existence. —Irene Grillo

[1] Steven Swarbrick and Jean-Thomas Tremblay. 2024. Negative Life : The Cinema of Extinction, Northwestern University Press, p. 20.