Plants in concert (AKA Plantwerk), a postcard garden for Bloom Festival 2023

Plants in Concert, a postcard garden by Klinkerdin Arts Salon & Edible Bray, L-R: midisprout, synthetiser, headphones, potted dwarf fig tree on invasive laurel wood slices. Photo by Eileen O’Sullivan.

Plants in Concert is a collaboration between Klinkerdin Arts Salon and Edible Bray, a public trail of community gardens in Bray. Together they have created a horticultural sound art installation where we listen to plants’ internal movements. Plants gurgle, stretch and turn. We hear.

How can we hear this? One of the plants in the garden has sensors attached, which allows reading its electromagnetic impulses, like a heart monitor, with a midisprout gadget translating them into sound. The sounds have been programmed and finetuned by musician Ruaidhrí O’Sullivan. During Bord Bia Bloom Festival 2023, this plant music was streamed and accessible via a QR code.

The judges awarded us a ‘Highly Commended’ plaque in Bloom Festival.

Plantwerk, the team

Eileen O’Sullivan – co-ordination, production & construction

Ruaidhrí O’Sullivan – sound engineer, sound production & construction

Hugh Ryder – head gardener & soft landscaper

John Mason – head gardener & soft landscaper

Mo Harte – socially engaged artistic collaborator & audio describer

Fergus O’Flaherty – production & construction

Elida Maiques – art direction

Links

www.klinkerdin.com

www.commongroundbray.com

@ediblebray

@commongroundbray

@common_ground_clh_ww

@mo.harte_mo.chroi

www.braytidytowns.com

@showingup_irl

The Sally Garden (IMMA)

A project started by Elida Maiques, planted in community during IMMA Earth Rising Eco Art Festival 2022.

A biodiversity haven where willow (sally/salley/salix) is coppiced yearly after flowering and fruiting. Willow rods are cut, harvested and stored for later use in weaving. The stools (tree stumps) remain alive, kept at ground level or up to 70cm.

This native tree is a truly sustainable material, it supports hundreds of species and is the basis for traditional arts such as willow weaving.

Livable futures for all will include willow.

The Sally Garden fits in a wheelbarrow.

A biomulch mat pegged with salvaged chopsticks helps the young trees establish.
A thick layer of bark mulch retains moisture and the biomulch mat in place.
Different willow varieties in striking purple, yellow, green, blue, selected by willow weaver Ciaran Hogan.

Tagged

Vault Studios, Imagine! Belfast Festival 2022, 26.03.22

Curated by Second Collective

“A unique workshop/performance/display/event at Vault Artist Studios, Tower Street, Belfast. TAGGED is a workshop-styled project exploring self-perception, self-image and words as tools for social control. Words (or tags) are often tools for othering, on the basis of intersecting gender, age, looks, heritage, social class but this workshop asks participants to reimagine these tags.” [Imagine! Belfast]