If You Build It, They Will Come... is a series of vessels that attract swarming bees, called bait-hives, which interrogate the border between fear and hope of an event and the prosaic preparations surrounding the possible event.

The vessels contain a custom-designed bee attractant that I have created by taking queen bee pheromones and mixing it with specific essential oils and beeswax. This mixture attracts bees from up to five kilometres away, engaging their swarming instinct and encouraging them leave their current hive to take up residence in my bait-hives.

In an attempt to expand my current apiary, I have set up a network of bait-hive hosts throughout London. The hosts were selected due to their proximity to current beehives, making it very likely that, one day, 20,000+ bees will swarm into the space to inhabit the hive.

This scenario forces the bait-hive hosts to confront their comfort level with this object. Do they want to attract a swarm to their space? Are they excited or scared of the prospect of living so close to a swarm of bees? How does the experience of being a bait-host affect the hosts' values and relationship with nature?

Traditional beekeeping methods suppress the swarming instinct in order to achieve maximum honey production. When a hive swarms, half of the hive population leaves in search of a new home; fewer bees make less honey. This instinct, however, allows bee populations to expand and breed locally. Embracing the swarming instinct forces the beekeeper to submit control of breeding and hive populations to the bees. It is common in our culture to feel we 'know what is best' for others. The past century of beekeeping reflects how wrong this assumption is. Perhaps this subtle shift in values will allow us to move forward with a less privileged dominating perspective.

To date, two of the five bait-hives have been populated.