Laura Harrington makes work that considers the complex relations between humans and landscapes, often through fieldwork, cross-disciplinary research and collaborative working. Harrington's practice centres on 'upstream consciousness', a framework that connects rivers, peatlands and other upland ecologies to global currents.
The works included in Hinterlands span eight years. From extensive research around peatland erosion working alongside physical scientist Jeff Warburton from Durham University, to Harrington’s most recent video, which brings together her ongoing enquiry into the North Pennines and Upper Teesdale.
Haggs #1–4 (2014–ongoing) investigates blanket bogs, erosion and weathering, a series of eroded landform remnants – or spirit creatures – shaped by a multitude of forces and processes. Vegetation Blanket #4 (2022) was created in collaboration with artist in the exhibition, who made felt collectively whilst having a conversation about landscapes, friendship, artistic practice and the places where things meet.
In Fieldworking (2020), six artists, an ecologist and two filmmakers spend five days together in an off-grid location surrounded by moorland and blanket bog. Camping on the former site of an important scientific field station on Moor House-Upper Teesdale National Nature Reserve, they explore ways to exist and work within the context of this remote and wet location. The work meditatively interweaves footage and field recordings from this journey. |