The bog, a space that creeps our subconscious and terrorizes our bodies. The fear of bogs is interwoven into culture, transmitted through intergenerational memory and folklore to build communal anxiety and disdain for the bog and swamp. This is a journey to the dark side of the bog, grounded in the western world’s theoretical and cultural history. The bog represents a concrete metaphor for the darker aspects of contemporary life and fears.
The bogland is a reminder of the uncivilized, undomesticated, untamed, and unruly human potential; a somatophobia inducing reminder that we come from bodies, we make coitus with bodies, and that we ourselves have bodies and as such will die in our bodies. The bog disrupts humankind’s confabulations of being civilized, above nature and above all ‘death’. Even in death humans attempt to put boundaries between themselves and natural life cycles through embalming and airtight coffins or cremation, giving no nutrients back to the soils that fed and nurtured them. Of the animal kingdom, the human is the most selfish consumer of the earth’s resources, refusing even in death to give the nutrients they took from the soil back to the earth in the form of decaying matter; a body-gift.
Our skin does not give us full protection from animal bites, physical attacks or weather conditions. The acidity and humidity of wetlands further plump the skin with water increasing its porous nature, aiding the work of insects and parasites and other contagions. In response we barricade our bodies in latex and nitrile rubbers, silicone, and creams to re-enforce our boundaries from bugs and rain; all with detrimental effects to the environment through production, and our bodies through non-breathable textiles and carcinogenic chemicals. Even underwear has gone from primarily being made of natural breathable materials to synthetic non-breathable materials, might the reason be a fear of invasion or bad smells?
The peatlands of the bog make up only three percent of the world’s land surface, yet store double the carbon of all the world’s forests (Ramsar, 2018) which make up thirty-one percent of the world’s land surface (FAO and UNEP, 2020). As if that were not enough, they in fact store more carbon than all the world’s vegetation put together (Ramsar, 2018). Drained and burned peatlands lose their carbon sink and capture potential, giving rise to centuries of stored carbon (UNEP, 2019; Ramsar, 2018). A study in Finland where over fifty percent of peatland has been drained (primarily for timber/forestry projects (53%) and agriculture) has found that the remaining undrained peatland hydrology is disrupted by adjacent drainage areas (Sallinen et al., 2019, p.1). Even so, wetlands remain an inexplicable omission from global climate change actions, regardless of their pivotal role in providing almost all clean freshwater, and flood disaster protection (Ramsar, 2018). Research has shown that inland wetlands have an “…economic value five times higher than tropical forests…” (Ramsar, 2018) and are the most priceless terrestrial habitat to human survival on earth. This research highlights the urgency to change our prejudices towards bogs and swamps.
This project culminated in a wearable system designed to protect both the boundaries and porosity of the bog and the human body during bog encounters in an attempt to build new just and respectful relationships with swamps and bogs. Addressing concepts of domestication, wild and nature; what it means to be scenic beauty within euro-western perspectives of “wild”. In addition to, the colonizers need to control nature, due to the fear and panic of invasion into the domestic/urban space led by hygiene and sanitation which produced the need for further distancing boundaries from natural porous natures.
Upon my arrival in Finland I found myself captivated by bogs, and their placement in the shadow of the highly prized and celebrated Finnish forests. I embarked on a research project at Slåttmossen Nature Reserve in Helsinki, through several investigations (including watching the microbiology; bacteria, protozoa, and microscopic animals in small water samples) and field work. I designed the first wearable bog system based on my findings and concepts developed while spending my days at the urban setting of Slättmossen ombrotrophic bog. This first wearable system developed includes silicone coated wool jersey waterproof underwear (removable crotch included), a comforting coverall uniform with two way zipper that runs from front to backside, a protective hood (inspired by witch cloaks) with a removable bag system (inspired by Finnish foraging culture), harness (inspired by the fear of the bog eye), and a set of ear plugs and nose plugs made of 100% Finnish forest to block the spooky sounds and stinky smells associated with bogs within popular culture. The textile is made from linen, cotton and bactron, a jacquard double weave I designed from the microscopic image of human macrophage cells (symbolic of protection) to look like a sphagnum moss camouflage which shrinks to hug the body and keep it cozy .
The intention is to have people re-question their learned and internalizing feelings towards bogs and swamps through this wearable system which plays with the porosities of the bog and the boundaries humans try to put between themselves and muddy porous terrains through outdoor wear.
Martin Dahlström-Heuser (Photographer). Tapiola, Finland. Photo credit for all documentation in Tapiola and Helsinki Metro Station.
Jouni Toivanen (Photographer). Järvenpää, Finland. Photo credit for uniform images in the forest and studio documentation.
collaboration with Lea Klein
wool jersey, silicone, snaps, thread
hand printed silk, silicone, cotton, clips, elastic
various textiles, clips
hand designed sphagnum moss camouflage textile (linen, cotton, bactron), clips
hand designed sphagnum moss camouflage textile (linen, cotton, bactron), clips, two way wrap around zipper, elastic
hand designed sphagnum moss camouflage textile (linen, cotton, bactron), snaps, two way wrap around zipper, elastic
‘Memory Bogging: Sensory Variations of a Future Past’ was a collaborative project by Jana Siren, Alexandra Stroganova, and Cynthia Blanchette. The vision was to create a future archive focused on the bog as an ancient living entity of forest remembrance and knowledge. The bog is a historical record of past biodiversity, an ecosystem capable of composting, preserving and creating new life. A heavy entity consisting of dense layers of information, extinct plant matter, preserved artifacts and a deep understanding of non-human history. What could one learn from it? How might it communicate? How could one entice it to communicate? And could one learn to understand it?
The final outcome was a short video Bogology, in which a bog researcher of the future attempts to communicate with the bog through touch, smell and sound. The researcher is carful not to contaminate the bog with human smell while gently massaging the surface of the bog with an assortment of petting and scratching instruments in the hopes of finding a common language.
During this collaborative project Cynthia Blanchette created the costume and tools, acted the part of researcher, narrated the story and co-wrote the script.
Evocative of deep time and the shared imagination for ancient environments. The exhibition Came From Water showcased wearable interactive Swamp Slippers. This visual spectacle questioned reality and conjured ideas of secret worlds and histories that connect us all. This body of work investigated the incredible vastness of evolutionary steps humans have taken. The slippers may cause the wearer to imagine what kind of organism they would be if they were the first to step, creep or flop out of the ocean. A collaborative performance is created between the wearer and each flip flop’s unique shape and movements.
The flip flops were created from hand dyed rag paper, hand dyed corn husks, mops, and hotel slippers, hand sewn and zip tied together. The slippers create a living coral reef organism as they are activated by the wearer.
The Goat Helmet is a safety device for returning to the Canadian outdoors, it protects one’s head from bear attacks as well as keeping branches from one’s eyes while running through the forest, and when one inevitably becomes overwhelmed by exhaustion it is the perfect pillow.
mixed media on canvas, 48"x60", 2017
mixed media on canvas, 48"x60", 2017
mixed media on canvas, 65"x44, 2016
mixed media on canvas, 65"x44, 2016
mixed media on canvas, 65"x44", 2016
mixed media on canvas, 65"x44", 2016
mixed media on canvas, 65"x44", 2016
synthetic material/foam/wool, 108"x84", 2017
installed
acrylic/mixed media on canvas, 36"x42", 2016
mixed media on canvas, 48"x60", 2016
acrylic/mixed media on canvas, 48"x72", 2015, sold
acrylic on canvas, 30"x40", 2015, sold
acrylic on canvas, 30"x48", 2015, sold
acrylic/charcoal on canvas, 48"x60", 2015, sold
mixed media on canvas, 60"x96", 2015, $4000
acrylic on canvas, 30"x40", 2015, sold
acrylic on canvas, 43"x60", 2015, sold
mixed media on canvas, 48"x66", 2014, sold
mixed media on canvas, 72"x48", 2013, NFS
mixed media on canvas, 48"x60", 2013, sold
mixed media on canvas, 72"x48", 2014, $2400
mixed media on canvas, 48"x72", 2014, sold
mixed media on canvas, 72"x60", 2014, $2800