Gweirgloddio / Meadow Maker
Commissioned by the National Botanic Garden of Wales as part of Plants: Past, Present, Future, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Dynamic Collections Initiative.
digital video with 2.1 sound, handmade meadow paper 1x1 m + 12 A3 embossed pieces, wooden stands, petri dishes, unprocessed meadow
Rooted in research and site-responsive practice, the installation explores meadows and the practice of haymaking as a traditional yet disappearing act within farming. Working directly with this year’s meadow cut from Trawsgoed field, the installation looks at the value of human management in preserving biodiverse landscapes. After the seeds were sieved from the hay, the remaining matter was pulped. The paper-making process echoes the principles of green hay - where cut vegetation is used to reseed land.
Experiments using light and heat controlled incubators, also showed that the meadow paper could be used as a substrate for the meadow seed’s germination, collapsing conservation practice, documentation, and sculpture into a single gesture. The resulting 1x1 metre sheets mirror the quadrats used for biodiversity sampling in the meadow, positioning the work as both document and ecological record.
Drawing on conversations with conservationists, scientists, farmers, and gardeners, the work challenges dominant narratives that frame human intervention as inherently damaging to nature. Instead, it positions haymaking as a collaborative process between people and landscape, one that has sustained species-rich grasslands for millennia.
