Part of “The Bog Beings” series, created for an exhibition with The Peat Appreciation Society at Gibson Mill, a National Trust property nestled in the forest at the heart of Hardcastle Crags.

By studying the ecological characteristics of plants, I imagine who lives alongside them in Nature's unseen realms, communicating the indigenous worldview that Nature is animated by spirit. “The Bog Beings” is inspired by moorland restoration work and the "personalities" of the plant community.

Purple Moor Grass (Molinia caerulea) is a perennial grass that forms dense tussocks in wet, acidic, upland, and lowland habitats like bogs and heaths across the UK. In winter, you’ll recognise it from the golden glow it gives to the moors from its dry yellow stems. It is deep-rooted and rhizomatous, allowing it to thrive in the nutrient-poor conditions of wet, upland habitats. Its large tussocks dominate, altering soil chemistry and changing the water table, resulting in competition with other plants in the moorland plant community.

Here, Purple Moor Grass's deep roots well up water from the bog.

Fine liner and watercolour.