Published by The Ice Plant. Text by Ellen Lapper, Aladin Borioli.
Published with RVB.
Since the birth of the modern beehive in 1852, structural innovation in hive construction has entered a dormant period. By favoring the standardized box hive, beekeeping turns its back on the 4,400 years of architectural diversity that came before. In an attempt to rectify this stagnation and to recover a fascinating fragment of design history, Aladin Borioli has maintained an open-ended and ongoing research project, Apian, which uses theoretical, iconographic and ethnographic methods to dissect the relationship between bees and humans. Originally published by RVB Books in 2020, this pocket-size, bilingual (English/French) artist’s book traces archival evidence of the beehive from as far back as 2400 BCE. Borioli rejects a fixed narrative and makes way for polymorphism: introducing graphic design, photography and writing to retell the story of beehives. The 375 images offer a glimpse into this prolific history of architecture for nonhumans. Aladin Borioli (born 1988) lives and works between Bevaix, Switzerland, and London. He holds a BA in photography from the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne and an MA in visual and media anthropology from the Freie Universität Berlin. He is currently pursuing a certificate program in critical philosophy at the New Centre for Research and Practice.
Published by Spector Books. Edited by Veronika Epple. Text by Bas Blaasse, Aladin Borioli.
Bannkörbe (literally meaning “charm baskets”) were a unique form of beekeeping technology that was popular in northern Germany, especially Lower Saxony, between the 17th and early 20th century. In addition to their nesting function, Bannkörbe were used to ward off evil spirits thanks to the strange masks that adorned them. Their appearance at dusk was also intended to scare away honey thieves and bears. This book explores this tradition, which is deeply rooted in magical beliefs, and shows how it represents an unusual alternative to the modern beehive and the economic optimization of beekeeping and honey harvesting. Combining text and image, Aladin Borioli (born 1988) presents his extensive research project on the Bannkörbe that still exist today. This volume functions as a continuation of his research project entitled Apian in which he been using theoretical, iconographic and ethnographic methods to study the relationship between bees and humans since 2014.
Aladin Borioli: Bannkörbe