Through Thinning Landscapes

  • TYPE: Competition, Installation, Research

  • METHODOLOGY: Fieldwork, Community Engagement

  • MATERIALS: Grass, Soil, Timber, Mirror

  • LOCATION: Loughrea, Ireland

  • YEAR: 2021

This project aimed to create an awareness-shifting experience for the individual: to provide a mandate for empathy with all stakeholders with whom we share our environment. Through experience the installation wishes to draw attention to the loss of the richness of life in the Irish landscape, and to inspire people to take action to resolve urgent biospherical issues.

In his book, ‘Whittled Away’, Pádraic Fogarty describes Irish wildlife as having 'been squeezed into . . . thin ribbons of treelines and hedgerows'. In this installation, grass monocultures dominate and loom over a narrow corridor through which there is just enough space to move. The individual moved through these thinning corridors for Irish wildlife, confronted by their loss. At the far end of the installation is a mirror, positioning the individual as a responsible agent within the complex systems of an environmental crisis.

To communicate the loss of the richness of life in the Irish landscape, as part of Galway 2020 there were a number of public engagement initiatives while the installation was in place, including a talk given by a biologist Éanna Ní Lamhna on practical methods of improving conditions for biodiversity. 

On Culture Night, there was a discussion panel to explore themes relating to the dual climate and biodiversity crises with ecologist Pádraic Fogarty, aiming to understand them within the discipline and profession of architecture. This conversation was moderated by architect Frank Monahan and is available in a form of podcast.

This short film, produced in collaboration with filmmaker Cathy Dunne,  aimed to capture ‘Through Thinning Landscapes’ installation and was screened as part of projections on Salthill Seapoint Ballroom and Westend Wall in Galway City as part of the Architecture At the Edge Festival 2020.

  • GUEST COLLABORATORS: Pádraic Fogarty, Éanna Ní Lamhna

  • TECHNICAL COLLABORATOR: Cathy Dunne (film production)

  • GRAPHIC DESIGN: Elly Vazraghi (poster)

  • PHOTOS: BothAnd Group

  • SUPPORTERS: Irish Architecture Foundation, Galway County Council, Architecture At the Edge