NGC Purchases Queen
National Gallery of Canada purchases Aganetha Dyck’s “Queen” and “Closest to Her” sculptures.
Aganetha Dyck writes: “In an antique store, I found a broken figurine representing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. The store’s proprietor was in the process of restoring the figurine and all I could think of was how the honeybees would do a much better job of restoration. I purchased the figurine while thinking of Queen Elizabeth’s daily life: a lifetime of servitude to others and her lack of privacy. I waxed the figurine and then gave her to the bees to make her more splendid. I gave the honeybees restoration hints, especially requesting that they give The Queen a new crown.
Next, I thought of the Queen’s personal attendant: the person who tends to her intimate affairs, who takes care of the Queen, someone who is sworn to secrecy, and unable to speak publicly of her royal duties. Someone who is closest to her. After finding an appropriate figurine that would suit the Elizabeth II figurine, I gave her to the honeybees to silence by covering her head with honeycomb. It took two honey flow seasons for the honeybees to complete The Queen and Closet to Her.”
Dyck’s “Queen” and “Closest to Her” sculptures join Aganetha Dyck’s “Glass Dress” already in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada.
