The Gearagh: The Wooded River

In this self intiated project I developed large scale hand painted ink illustrations that focused on reanimating the history of the Gearagh. An ancient river forest located on the river Lee near the town of Macroom that housed ancient trees, diverse flora and fauna and a Gaeltacht Community with a unique heritage. The Gearagh was felled and flooded to aid the development of a 1950’s hydroelectric scheme.

I received funding from the Arts Council of Ireland to spend 3 months living beside the Gearagh where I developed and incorporated a site specific component into my process by drawing in the landscape to add a more authentic character character to my imaginative and detailed drawings. While simultaneously learning about it’s history through primary and secondary publications describing the areas rich ecology and history, to develop an imaginative digital language to describe it.

Today the Gearagh remains decimated except for a small part that has re-wilded on it’s western side. My aim with these illustrations was to draw attention what could happen if it was able to rejuvenate itself and what it was in the past landscape with labyrinthine waterways and densely wooded islands, with flora and fauna and a forest community with a unique way of life.

This project culminated in a solo exhibition at the Macroom School of Art on Culture Night 2022.