Carrying Wood Ongoing
A slow practice of care and observation
Carrying wood, caring for a hedge, managing expectation of ones place within the living world and walking lightly upon it.
This activity began following a gift from a forester friend of several hundred indigenous Irish hedging whips in 2014. As they put their feet down, settled and grew, the plants gave refuge for myriad birds, insects, plants and animals. So too grew the artist’s need to be sympathetic in managing the boundary.
In early 2021 the artist trained under ‘The Irish Hedgelaying Association’ to apply the ancient bronze age skill of ‘laying’ a hedge to encourage biodiversity and longevity. This physical and meditative practice involves partially cutting plants close to their base and ‘laying’ them at an angle, retaining the living cambium and a hinge of bark. This keeps the plant alive and encourages fresh growth from the base.
This cyclical management of hedges happens in phases to ensure habitats remain viable as places of shelter and food for the community of life that depend on them. It will take approximately 4 more years to complete the task since it was started in Jauary 2023.
Along the way there is a growing pool of photographic, drawn and video evidence of the intimate details, lyrical movements and abundance of life that surround this hedge. All of them in their own season, at their own pace and with no one to impress.
Leaf Dance, early morning 2022