Abstract Life Finds a Bend and Nests in it is the working title for a nascent research project by artist Fiona Hallinan. This project stems from a broader collaborative research practice, the Department of Ultimology, which works to produce artworks and activities dedicated to paying attention to “endings”. The presentation will begin with an introduction to the work of the Department of Ultimology in the context of endangered conceptual worlds, and will then present Life Finds a Bend and Nests in it as its current project in development.
Life Finds a Bend and Nests in it looks at the relationships between an endangered plant family, bryophytes, and the dedicated human individuals working to nurture, conserve and share knowledge of them. The project asks what repository could store vital knowledge such as this? And more broadly how can deep, embodied knowledge be both disseminated and preserved for future generations?
This project proposes that the lullaby, the genre of infant-directed music, could act as a repository and form of dissemination for endangered conceptual worlds, in this case knowledge of endangered plants.
The project will take the form of a three year process documenting the making of a hybrid documentary that gathers knowledge into the relationships that dedicated individuals have with the plant family of bryophytes, in particular sphagnum moss. This will include visits to laboratories and greenhouses where moss is propagated, landscapes where it is being implanted and spaces where imaging is used to document their spores. These visits will work towards generating a song cycle of lullabies, working both with a select number of vocal artists and sound designer Brendan Jenkinson. The project encompasses ongoing research into the lullaby as form and draws on literature and oral interview sources to explore this genre as a repository of knowledge. The research continues from an initial development period in 2023 funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.