Irish artist Niamh Fahy has brought together scientific fieldwork techniques and print making processes to produce visually captivating outcomes examining the bearing land use has on water quality.
Her work sheds light on Somerset’s wetlands through microscopy, lithography, anthotype, photographic printing and etching processes, transforming data and samples collected by environmental scientist Dr Gillian Clayton to create stimulating and thought-provoking images first displayed at the Bower Ashton F Block Gallery in Bristol in January 2023.
Studies of duckweed growth in river courses, which overproduces when there is an excess of nutrients from sewage, agricultural, industrial or domestic runoff, produced evidence of the results of human activities on aquatic environments.
Transforming these results into art, Fahy is prompting wider discussion and further engagement that question our, often unseen, interactions with nature.
'We chose to look at duckweed because it is recognisable,' explains Fahy. 'These huge blankets are a form of feedback on the health of the water, they tell us about an imbalance. We see a part of something on the surface that actually has a huge depth. The challenge is holding the gaze of the viewer long enough to allow for those depths to be imagined.'
Fahy’s lithographs and etchings combine hand drawn imagery and photographic elements and can be viewed on Instagram @niamhfahyart or at niamhfahy.com
