Urban Beekeeping: Photographs by Lynda Laird

About

Telegram is delighted to announce Lynda Laird as the latest artist to join our online gallery. Our next pop up exhibition, to be held at the Peckham Pelican from 2 to 8 March, will showcase her 2014 series of photographs, Urban Beekeeping.

Primarily a documentary photographer Laird’s work is concerned with the environment and our connection to it. Her photographs have been published in a number of international newspaper and magazines, including The Guardian, and she also works with leading NGOs around the world.

Born in Orkney, Scotland, her fascination with nature is innate, ‘I grew up surrounded by farming and fishing, with people who had a deep understanding of how nature works, what the seasons mean and how to work with, instead of against, our environment.’

Urban Beekeeping follows the work of Camilla Goddard, a full time beekeeper for Capital Bee in South London. She first started keeping bees eight years ago and now has hives all over the city: in parks, churchyards, primary schools and on the roofs of hotels. She collects swarms from people’s attics, holds talks and about beekeeping and sells honey at her local shop.

The Honey Bee population has declined massively in recent years. In 2008, a million honeybee colonies in the United States mysteriously perished – a third of all their hives. This phenomenon was happening all over the world and became known as colony collapse disorder. The reasons behind it still remain unclear but links have been made to GM crops, habitat degradation – including the loss of flowering plant species that provide food for bees – and the increasing use of pesticides. Bees pollinate over 30% of our food and 90% of our wild plants.  Without bees to spread seeds, many plants, including food crops, would die out. 

In response to the bee crisis, there has been a huge increase in the number of people taking up bee keeping, especially in cities.  Since 2008, the British Beekeepers Association’s membership has more than doubled to over 22,000.  Thanks to the lack of pesticides in the air, the diversity of our cities’ green spaces and people like Camilla, bees are now thriving in urban environments. We hope this exhibition of stunning images of Camilla and her colonies will inspire new generations of beekeepers as well as raising awareness of this important environmental issue.

Urban Beekeeping marks the first pop up exhibition in Telegram’s 2015 residency at the Peckham Pelican. A vibrant bar and gallery space, the Pelican is a keen supporter of emerging artists. Summer and Autumn exhibitions will follow including a showcase of portraits by Telegram artist Hayley Nia Thomas in June.

Prints start at £300.