World of Wasps

Wasps are the world’s original paper makers.

By chewing wood fibres, mixing them with saliva, and layering the resulting pulp to dry, they make complex, intricate, beautiful structures.

I was asked by the Grant Museum to create a sculptural paper installation inspired by wasps nests, in collaboration with UCL’s resident wasp expert Professor Seirian Sumner.

Straight away, the project raised interesting questions:

  • How do wasps go about making their nests?

  • Can we humans make a nest of paper sheets?

  • What methods and precedents could guide us?

  • How could one person replicate the work of a colony of hundreds of wasps?

To explore these questions, I separated the sculpture into two distinctive parts: The curvy shell and the geometric comb.

The shell is crafted from sheets of paper – cut, scored, curled, and shaped by hand. Up close, its curved segments resemble the sweeping deposits left by a wasp’s mouthful of pulp. These segments join together to form the nest’s distinctive egg shape.

The comb is inspired by the tension between the strict hexagonal grid and the sensuous curving surfaces found in the real combs on display in the Museum.

Its layers are suspended in space by a network of structural columns – just like in actual nests. The lowest layer features larger cells, destined to house the next batch of Queens.

I’ll be sharing more information on the sculptures and the story behind their making via my newsletter - sign up by emailing me here.

I’m running two paper sculpting events in connection with the exhibition: book early to avoid disappointment!

The exhibition ‘World of Wasps’ runs from 23 June 2025 until 24 January 2026:
Opening hours Tuesday - Friday : 1pm–5pm, Saturday: 11am–5pm
For more information visit the Grant Museum’s website.

The sculpture was made possible by the generous support of GF Smith.