University of Abderdeen Residency -
Poetry, Art and Marine Biology
An exciting new arts-science collaboration with marine biologists from the University of Aberdeen’s School of Biological Sciences. I’m taking inspiration from research into marine mammals and seabirds to develop creative outputs integrating poetry, spoken word, audio and video.
I’m engaging with two main fieldwork projects: the long-term study into breeding fulmars on the uninhabited island of Eynhallow in Orkney, and the passive acoustic monitoring work in and around offshore wind farm sites in the North Sea.
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L to R: Poet Genevieve Carver, Biologist Dr Ana Payo-Payo, Artist Joan Gabie and artist Neville Gabie
In June 2022 I joined Paul Thompson and Ana Payo-Payo on Eynhallow along with visual artists Neville and Joan Gabie, who will also be creating film and drawings about the project for a commission at the Hull Maritime Museum. From a wooden lodge nestled in the island’s only sheltered bay, we continued to track the comings and goings of a bird population that scientists have been studying for almost 75 years. The vibrancy, clamour and colour of this ‘uninhabited’ island has already come storming and squawking into my work.
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L to R: Biologist Dr Paul Thompson,Biologist Dr Vigrinia Iorio, Poet Genevieve Carver
In September 2022 I spent two weeks at the Lighthouse Field Station in Cromarty on the Black Isle, observing the team’s work looking into the use of offshore wind turbine locations by dolphin, porpoise and minke whale. We travelled by boat to Beatrice offshore wind farm where the team have distributed underwater acoustic monitoring and recording devices. I will be working with sound designer Lucy Treacher to work with some of the hydrophone recordings to create new spoken word and sound pieces including the voices of marine animals.