Sculpture by Norfolk artist highlights plight of bees

Entitled 'A Fine Balance', the piece was created by Norfolk sculptor Dan Meek and is on permanent display at the University of Birmingham's Winterbourne Gardens.

The sculpture is carved in St Bees sandstone and was inspired by Einstein's quote "if the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years to live".

Mr Meek, of South Lopham, Diss, said: “The fragility of the current balance was also the reason I inserted the quote from horticulturist writer Elizabeth Lawrence at the base of the piece - ‘the hum of the bee is the voice of the garden’.

"This sums thing up perfectly."

Dan Meek, a specialist in stone carving and letter cutting, was inspired by an Einstein quote (Image: Ash Knotek)

The head of Winterbourne Gardens, Lee Hale, said: “There’s more to the sculpture than stone.

"Not only does it highlight the plight of the bees and the changes they fact from habitat loss and pesticide use, it also celebrates the relationship between them and us.

“It’s a physical representation of connections, interactions and networks.”

Mr Meek's work was the winning piece in a competition organised by Suffolk’s Lettering Arts Trust.