Positionings is a publication of active research. Situated in Laois, the work honours what is present and questions the future of the local, labour and its value through use and production. The three strands speak to each other through ideas of farming ingenuity. 

Section 1 - The (Passive) Observer: Sets the context for the experience of the book. It ask us of the existing state of the farm through the lens of the artist.

Section 2 - The (Interactive) Honouring: hints at broader questions of use and production which slowly introduces us to honouring objects. It reflects on farming objects dictated through the production of a ‘one man farm.’ I draw attention to the functionality of farming ingenuity and its materiality speaking to the current economy of farming.

Section 3 - The (Active) Implication: presents the process of A Structure, a collaboration with my father and brother. We re-purposed a marginal space on the farm to an active space for events and talks. A space for action and agency that will organically take on use and functionality beyond this book. 

While in lockdown I was home in Laois for a long period of time so I involved myself in the daily action of farming and I began by taking photographs. A dialogue started through the images around ideas of farming ingenuity and thinking about it as a traditional practice. I felt that there was nuanced ideas of sustainability already present which led me to other themes of economy, exchange, value, use and production. I wanted to map/present these various forms of labour particularly through distilling all this materiality and physical knowledge into a publication.

View publication here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQy9xpdxkJ4