Juanita Browne: These bogland paintings offer an insect's eye view of an other-worldly habitat
Bogland by Kathrine Geoghegan runs from Sept 5-17. Kathrine Geoghegan is an artist living & working in County Kildare. Her practice is concerned with habitat and the conservation of wild places. This painting is Fenland pool 92 X 122 cm (5)
I believe that wildlife film-making and photography is vital to the appreciation and conservation of habitats and species. Capturing perfect, realistic images of the natural world allows us to share its beauty and document behaviour, and really allows people to connect with nature even if it exists on the other side of the planet or at the bottom of the ocean.
But we should not underestimate the power of art and in particular, paintings and drawings, to help us form connections with the natural world in a really unique way. One artist’s interpretation of a species or landscape can really touch us in a way that a still photograph cannot. A painting can also bring up subtle emotions and stir in us a thirst to find out more about the subject or place.
For me, Kildare-based artist Kathrine Geoghegan, manages to do this with her paintings — drawing you into a habitat and inspiring you to get out there and explore for yourself.
Kathrine’s new exhibition ‘ BOGLAND’ celebrates the plant life of Irish bogs and fens and is well worth a visit. The exhibition will run from September 5-17, at the City Assembly House, South William Street, Dublin.
Kathrine’s paintings have an ethereal quality and this new exhibition is the culmination of more than two years' work, inspired by exploring bogs and fens between lockdowns. Some of our most mysterious plants are found on peatlands. Walking these wild places, Geoghegan was amazed by the myriad colours of sphagnum moss, the building blocks of any bog. The artist was also intrigued by the carnivorous native plants and beautiful alien species, which have found ingenious ways to survive this harsh acidic terrain. Often the mosses and sundews and other plants on bogs are very small in stature, but Kathrine has managed to create a unique perspective in her paintings, offering an insect’s eye view of this other-worldly habitat.
Kathrine’s art focuses on the natural world, habitats and the preservation of wild places. Her last exhibition explored the different habitats of the North Bull Island biosphere, before turning her attention to peatlands.
“I was drawn to peatlands for a few different reasons. Firstly, my father was a Bord na Móna engineer — he designed peat harvesting and processing machinery. He used to take us on the bog during the summer and we would ride on the little locomotives. He believed back then that cutting turf was unsustainable and mooted the idea of windmills on the bog — this was back in the 1970s," — well before wind energy was a hot topic!
“He’d talk to his kids about this, and I suppose the conservation seeds were planted back then.”
“Another reason is an annual summer pilgrimage to Tarmonbarry, County Roscommon, to stay with friends. There’s a raised bog we walk on near their place. The extraordinary Canadian pitcher plants growing there really piqued my interest. Unfortunately over the last number of years they have spread and seem somewhat invasive, but are they a sight to behold. Then, of course, my interest in painting different habitats also drew me to peatlands — they are so important as a habitat for wildlife and for carbon sequestration in the fight against climate change. The past few summers, with the raging heat, drought and unseasonal flooding, our planet is suffering. As the custodians of a large share of Europe’s peatlands, we in Ireland must preserve and rehabilitate this importance resource. I hope my work helps to raise awareness of their importance.”
The exhibition is in the City Assembly House, a beautiful Georgian building in Dublin's South William Street, which is home to the Irish Georgian Society. It was built in 1771 as the first ever public gallery in Ireland and Britain for artists to display their works. Kathrine’s paintings will be shown in the octagonal Knight of Glin room.
If you do get to visit, leave your perceptions of a peatland at the door, and step into Kathrine’s magical world.
- Juanita Browne has written a number of wildlife books, including and .
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