Join artist Fiona McDonald for a walk and talk of her work We Share the Same Air [1.1] part of the group exhibition BogSkin. She will be joined by Fiona McDermott, a research fellow at CONNECT, the Research Centre for Future Communications and Networks at Trinity College Dublin. The Peatland Early Career Researcher (ECR) Action Team with then join in for a discussion.
Admission free, booking not necessary.
We Share the Same Air [1.1] is an automated sculpture exploring the ecological and atmospheric significance of peatlands as living surfaces and critical carbon sinks. At its heart, We Share the Same Air [1.1] consists of three transparent chambers arranged in a circular configuration. Two chambers house living sphagnum moss ecosystems—emblematic of healthy peatlands actively sequestering carbon dioxide—while a third chamber contains bare peat, representing degraded landscapes. A robotic arm at the centre of the installation moves with quiet precision, opening and sealing each chamber in turn, creating a rhythmic choreography. As the robotic arm seals a chamber, an embedded CO2 sensor captures atmospheric readings over ten minute intervals. Under ultraviolet grow lights the healthy sphagnum moss chambers show a slow drop in CO2 levels, mirroring the photosynthetic process, while the aerobic bare peat chamber highlights the contrasting release of carbon, a stark visualization of environmental degradation.
Bogs are more than geological layers; they are relational systems, processing the atmospheric, hydrological, and biological flows that define them. We Share the Same Air [1.1] extends this notion to include the gallery space itself, transforming the atmosphere into a site of interaction. The CO2 levels in the room are directly influenced by the presence of visitors, particularly during moments of density when human breath will dramatically elevate the CO2 concentration. This feedback loop between human bodies and the living systems within the chambers underscores the entanglement of our atmosphere with peatlands and with our own collective presence.
The installation’s technological interventions such as ultraviolet grow lights and moisture-regulating pumps, sustain the moss in a feedback loop of care and control. These same technologies—born of extraction and industrial systems—are reimagined here as tools of restoration and observation and care.
Fiona McDonald is an interdisciplinary artist whose work has always been at the nexus of art, science and technology. Working primarily with sculpture, installation, print, hardware and code she creates technological systems that interface into the gradual and often imperceptibly changing natural world.
Fiona Mc Dermot is a research fellow at CONNECT, the Research Centre for Future Communications and Networks at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Ireland. Her research explorations include the social and cultural implications of data driven technologies with a particular focus on autonomous systems emerging network technologies data infrastructure urban governance and creative practice collaborations. She was a member of ANNEX, the curatorial team for the Irish Pavilion “Entanglement’ at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2021 and co-editor of the book, States of Entanglement: Data in the Irish Landscape (Actar Publishers, 2021). Previously she was a Fulbright visiting research scholar at the School of Media Studies at the New School in New York City (2017 -2018).
Followed by a discussion with members of Peat ECR. Peat ECR. The Peatland Early Career Researcher (ECR) Action Team is a network by wetland scientists for wetland scientists
Thanks to: Dr Nicholas Ward UL for firmware support & development, National Parks Wildlife Services (NPWS), Mark O Connor, Dr Gerry Boland, Bord na Móna, Parity Studios UCD, EFJ engineering, Gordon Kavanagh, Rosemount Research Station UCD, Dr Noeleen Smyth UCD, PEAT ECR and The Arts Council of Ireland Project Award.
Installation image: Ros Kavanagh Photography. Image used courtesy of the artist.