Between 2019 and 2020 while studying mourning attire at the RISD Museum, American fashion designer and jeweller Luci Jockel stumbled upon the cleaning of a dead colony of honey bees from the museum’s roof. The colony suffered a grave consequence of the cold and did not survive the winter, which was just another season for Jockel. This prompted Jockel’s fascination with the fragile yet crucial lives of honey bees. Hence, when she received a jewelry commission from the RSID Museum, Jockel decided to honour the dead honey bees by creating a lace neckpiece out of their wings. This was inspired by Portrait of a Woman in Lace Hood, a painting from the 1600s in the museum’s collection which depicts the eponymous mourning garment.
Jockel spent a few months meticulously crafting and gluing honey bee wings with archival glue to create a single piece. While making the mourning attire, the amount of care and labour she had put into the piece suggested how she also mourned the heavy loss of the honey bee colony. This is especially significant as 42 percent of bee colonies collapsed in a single year in the United States alone. It is, therefore, apt to state that the phenomenon poses serious risks to global food supplies, as bees pollinate 85% of vegetation on the planet, making them indispensable for agriculture and the world’s ecosystems. Jockel's work shows how imperative it is to advocate for honey bee conservation, as aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land.
Today, Jockel continues to create statement jewellery pieces out of sustainably sourced honey bee wings to further advocate for the cause. One of her most recent pieces, Gold Veil, a long mourning veil, is made out of 20,000 individual honey bee wings that have come from various sources such as sustainable beekeepers in Rhode Island or various other sustainable hives such as those tended by Bruce Gifford at the top of MAD Museum and Brooklyn Museum.
During this process, Jockel also became acquainted with local Rhode Island beekeeper Paul Whewell, who had lost his hives to a particularly harsh winter. Jockel agreed to exchange his honey bees’ wings with personal labour to help him rebuild his colony. With the exchange, Jockel learned the ins and outs of sustainable beekeeping, which she then continued at home with her father, further showcasing her commitment to increasing the honey bee population.
Luci Jockel’s bee wing creations are poignant tributes to the fragility of honey bee populations and humanity’s role in their survival. By meticulously crafting jewelry pieces from sustainably sourced honey bee wings, Jockel transforms loss into art, highlighting the critical ecological importance of these pollinators, which support 85 percent of global vegetation. Her dedication goes beyond artistry—she actively advocates for honey bee conservation through sustainable practices and hands-on beekeeping efforts. Jockel’s creations serve as both a call to action and a reminder of the delicate balance between humanity and nature.
Find out more about the bee wing veils and other initiatives by Luci Jockel on her Instagram @lucijockel.