Re:Peat Re:Plant

2024, sizes range from 1″x3″ to 16″x20″

Finnish plant-based ink from site, Chinese ink, graphite, vinyl flashe, gouache, acrylic, screenprint, conte, glaze pencil, thread, quilt batting, embossed paper, plastic sheeting, red pen

Drawings of Sphagnum moss from peatland conservation site in Northern Ostrobothia, Finland, using electron microscopy made with Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luonnonvarakeskus) in 2019, and appropriated patterning from Finnish designer Alvar Aalto which coincides with shapes of extracted plots of harvested peatland.

Please click on images below to view the full-sized works:

Re:Peat is a EDUFI Fulbright Finland Fellowship research project focusing on peatland extraction and restoration in Finland. This audio project combines field recordings from Latvasuo & Pikkusaarisuo extraction sites with hyperspectral imaging of soil core samples. Hyperspectral images are read as graphic music notation. Our hyperspectral images were made with a Specim FX-17 camera using wavelengths of 900 – 1700 nanometers. These images allow us to see details in soil structure invisible to the naked eye. We hear two sonified core samples, the unrestored sample panned left and restored panned right, moving low to high. Ash, an industrial byproduct from burning peat for power and heat at Toppila station in Oulu, has been used to treat the soil, de-acidifying it and perhaps leading to a viable novel ecosystem for reindeer forage. Pictured above is a stereo microscope image I made in 2019 of Sphagnum moss from our extraction site. Sphagnum is the species which forms peatlands.