Bastard Bee at the Blue X Lap Dancing Club (2004)

Video, 3 minutes 59 seconds

Bastard Bee is the most exasperated of Melody's alter ego's. The costume is a childlike representation of a bee and wields a chainsaw, interacting with the audience. The bee revs up the chainsaw and tackles the wooden chair with a large amount of pent up energy. He thrusts it wildly facing the camera, a nervous moment for the viewer who is confronted with essentially hysterical ball of fur holding an offensive weapon. Bastard Bee has also performed at the ‘Seen' Live Art Festival in 2004. He occupied a cubicle in ‘The Blue X' a lap dance club in the centre of Leicester where he gave free one to one lap dances with a difference. The dark and murky film shows Bastard Bee dancing to Marilyn Manson's version of ‘Tainted Love', manically waving a plastic cricket bat and a pair of fake boobs glued to the front of his outfit. By these sometimes outrageous performances Victoria Melody suggests that similar to the drone (the male bee who is both fully dependant and does everything he can for his queen), our lives and views can be prostituted in order to thrive in society.