Critical Zone: Bog Study

Critical Zone: Bog Study is an artist's book that explores the decimated raised bogs of the Midlands of Ireland. The book stitches together a series of photographic prints by artist Catriona Leahy made during a period of research that culminated in the triptych “Critical Zone: Bog Study I, II, III”, subsequently exhibited as part of the exhibition “Agitation Co-op” at Temple Bar Gallery & Studios in 2021. Made by exposing “constructed” negatives that are first cut and collaged, the resulting prints bear the scars and wounds of interventions and echo the deep incisions visible on the surface of the bog. The book format was inspired by the sartorial nature of the content and includes a foil blocked poem written by the artist, a sheet of Rubylith film and a chemically unfixed photographic print detailing a receding view of the cutaway bog. In its unfixed state, this photograph remains sensitive to light and therefore risks fading into darkness. Together, the poem, the Rubylith film and unfixed photograph, highlight the precarious state of the bog landscape. This publication was exhibited as part the Dublin Art Book Fair 2021 — Temple Bar Gallery + Studios.