Liminal / Cupar Arts Festival

Cupar, Scotland June 2016

Step into another world

Peatland is a place of transition, it was a liminal space for our ancestors who placed offerings of gold, weapons and tools in the mysterious bog.

I am interested in increasing awareness of the raised bog habitat near Cupar. This particular habitat is typical of lowland areas and used to cover a large expanse in central Scotland along the river Tay. It was up to 10m above the surrounding level of the landscape and was cleared in the 18th century. Peatland is very good as a filter, removing many pollutants from water and is really important as a carbon store. The central belt of Scotland has one of the most significant concentrations of surviving raised bog in Western Europe.

This piece ‘step into another world’ was an immersive installation in a large room in the County Buildings in Cupar. Visitors walked around a hanging quadrat above a peat soaked cloth 2m by 2m with a woven quadrat, 1m by 1m in front and each piece only used the plants from that particular habitat. The quadrat is used by botanists to identify all plants within a square placed on the ground.

As part of the Cupar Arts Festival 2016, Jenny Messenger and I chat about my work on the festival blog

Raised bog habitat plants used

Calluna vulgaris – Heather

Erica tetralix – Cross-leaved Heath

Eriophorum angustifolium – Common Cottongrass / Bog cotton

Sphagnum papillossum – Sphagnum moss

Eriophorum vaginatum – Hare’s-tail Cottongrass / Bog cotton

Sphagnum capillifolium – Sphagnum moss

Sphagnum tenellum – Sphagnum moss

Nardus stricta – Mat-grass

Myrica gale – Bog-myrtle

Narthecium ossifragum – Bog Asphodel

Trichophorum cespitosum – Deergrass

Polytrichum commune – Hair moss

Molinia caerulea – Purple Moor-grass

Juncus effusus – Soft Rush

Racomitrium lanuginosum – Woolly Fringe-moss

Sphagnum cuspidatum – Sphagnum moss

Rhytidiadelphus loreus – Little Shaggy-moss

Hypnum juntlandicum – Heath Plait-moss