Artist's Description
Although the native bee is no bigger than a fly, it is an important provider of honey. Once the nest is found the sugar bag is eagerly devoured—wax, honey, pupae, dead bees, ants and all. The stick which is used to pry the sugar bag from the tree is thrown in the fire, and by this simple act the spirits of the bees return to the heavens, the Paradise of the Spirits, where they stay until Mayra, the wind of spring, breathes life into the flowers again. Then the bees return to the Paradise of Earth and gather honey to fill the bellies of mankind.
Painted at Callala Bay in the presence of native bees.
Keywords: bee, dance, sea, cove, dunes, honey, aboriginal, story