Bumblebee Loves You Retraces Childhood with a Social Message

by Caro hifructose

Los Angeles based street artist Bumblebee Loves You colors the urban landscape with stencils of children that deliver an important message. Why take the namesake of a bee? This little insect has been attributed to human survival and development because of its role as a pollinator. The bee’s endangerment due to pollution, urbanization, and other factors could mean devastation. Bumblebee Loves You began with hanging paper mache beehives in phone kiosks, pointing to the link between rising cellphone usage and change in bee migration. Since then, his work has developed into a range of paintings, sculpture, and installations with a social and environmental focus. By telling his personal coming of age story for anyone to see, Bumblebee reminds us of the value of innocence, away from industry and technology. A “90s kid”, Bumblebee’s pop culture references go back to Saturday morning cartoons, films like The Land Before Time and Jurassic Park, and his own childhood memories. There is a feeling of nostalgia throughout his work. His scenes show kids literally playing on a street corner in their pajamas, swimming with dolphins across a building, or going surfing in the dry LA River.  Often, they wear the signature bee-colored yellow and black striped shirt.  Using the power of social media and communication, Bumblebee Loves You has brought these blissful and sometimes troubling images to public awareness. Coming up next, you can find Bumblebee Loves You in “LAX/TXL” by Thinkspace Gallery at Urban Nation on May 17th.