In the experimental video essay Anthropobee Mia Makela investigates our relationship with the honey bee. The artist spent three years as a beekeeper, documenting her experiences with an I-Phone. Thru a sensitive, intimate and prolonged observation Makela discovers surprising behaviour inside and outside the hive, which she offers as a set of dialogues that bring humour, poetry, and insights into the multiple dimensions of this species. Makela speaks to the bee directly asking questions and leaving space for not-knowing and eco-centricity. She reveals how intrinsically anthropocentric our attitudes are, and how this affects the process of subjugating the honey bee into a condition of exploitable natural resource.

Mia Makela (b. 1971) is a Finnish research-based media artist and cultural historian exploring the intersections of art, technology, science, and ecology. Driven by a deep need to understand the non-human world, she integrates expert knowledge and empirical research into her art, which has led her to take on roles like algae gatherer, zookeeper, bird watcher and beekeeper. Currently she works with video, installations and expeditions. Makela, internationally acknowledged pioneer in the field of live cinema, has shown her work and lectured worldwide.