This article was taken from the October 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

This sweet sculpture was built by bees. It's one of five pieces in the Yuansu II series from Chinese artist Ren Ri, which explores the natural architecture of honeybee hives. "In the process of keeping bees, I found those little creatures are really genius architects," says Beijing-based Ri. "The process of nesting -- inch by inch, using structured orthohexagonal cells -- is very much like how human beings construct the world."

Ri, 30, shapes each sculpture by controlling the position of the queen bee at the centre of each acrylic shell. He coats the inside of each structure and the mesh of support struts with beeswax and propolis -- esin that bees collect from plants -- to help them acclimatise ("Bees prefer a plane surface," he explains). Ri rotates the hives every seven days, using the changes in gravity to alter the sculpture's final form.

Ri's affinity for bees began during his childhood in the rural region of Wuhan, before studying a PhD in sculpture at Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts. He has used them for Yuansu I: The Origin of Geometry, a series of topographic maps, and Yuansu III, a performance art piece in which the bees settle on his body in front of an audience. (Yes, he gets stung regularly.) He is now using the honeycomb technique to grow a 1.6-metre sphere, to be exhibited this autumn. "The most difficult part is overcoming the inside fear in one's heart toward bees. Once you relax toward them, they become friendly," he says. "My work is a process of co-ordination and co-operation. I was there simply to change the direction of gravity -- all the rest was left to the bees."

This article was originally published by WIRED UK