Fay Burnett

I arrived at the SOIL residency, with a bag of peat, collected from Knockmore on Clare Island. I felt
a preciousness in the peat, derived partly from my feeling of ‘hiraeth’ – homesickness, for the
island. I found this feeling to mirror the current precious reality of the bogland; as it rests and
restores, it is now recognised as a vital ecosystem – carbon-sink, after decades of being harvested
for fuel.
During my 3 week residency, I worked with peat, the local bog, deer paths and pathway junctions
through the bog, a water spring on the land, character spirits of a mud fairy and bog fairy and
repetitive movement. With these I created a landscaped ‘performance garden’ with mud-bath and
spring-fed pool, performances with the bog, and body drawings – using my body as the tool and
peat as the material.
Through the materiality of peat in its varying states, from wet on the bog, to dry dust in the studio, I
explored the current and historic varying states of the bogs throughout Ireland; from working to
restoring, from blanket to raised, from being exploited for fuel to being protected.
My work produced during the SOIL residency sits in the genre of ‘earth art’, referencing Nigel
Rolfe’s durational bog lying, and Ana Mendieta’s “earth-body” works.
Bio
Fay is a Welsh artist creating environmentally aware work surrounding themes of relationship,
communication, presence, mythology and folklore. Her practice is performance, dance and
sculpture based. Fay’s creative research methods are through languages of the body and word.
She interacts with nature, the land and the elements, finding transitional states in-between, where
she uses and accesses improvisation and ‘slow time’. Fay helps build communities; safe spaces
for personal sharing, inner exploration, learning and teaching. She explores radical and true
expression through physical body movement.
Fay received her BA in Fine Art at Kingston University and ESAD Valence. She has performed and
exhibited in Wales, Ireland, Europe and Internationally. Recently, Fay has been living and working
in Ireland. In April 2023, she exhibited her solo show ABHAILE/CARTREF at the Community
Centre, Clare Island, with a body of work focusing on finding a sense of home in traditional craft
and the land, parallel to the current housing crisis.
Her residency at Live Art Ireland was funded by Mayo County Council Arts Office.