Peatbog becomes stage for immersive climate performance

When Peat Speaks: A Boggy Ensemble

A degraded peatbog became the stage for an outdoor performance this month, as scientific data was transformed into an immersive work.

‘When Peat Speaks’, by Aberystwyth University Art lecturer Miranda Whall, culminated in a performance at the University’s Pwllpeiran Upland Research Centre.

The project explores how scientific data can be interpreted through art, combining environmental science and live performance to highlight the environmental significance of peatbogs and their vital role in the climate crisis.

The work draws on scientific data gathered by Aberystwyth University scientists from a network of soil sensors installed on the bog and from 32 peatland plots in the Cambrian Mountains. This data has been transformed into drawings, sculpture and sound works, and a documentary film.

These elements came together in a multimedia performance by an international ensemble. Staged on the peatbog at dusk, ‘When Peat Speaks: A Boggy Ensemble’ explored its ecological and cultural importance through performance art, musical improvisation and Butoh dance. 

Miranda Whall said: 

“This project continues my practice of working across art and environmental science to open up alternative ways of understanding ecological processes and change. Peatlands hold complex ecological and cultural histories, and I’m interested in how these can be sensed and experienced. 

“Through this work, I explore how artistic processes can reveal different forms of knowledge within the landscape. As the work reaches its culmination, I hope audiences come to see peat not only as a carbon store, but as a living system that carries memory and sound over time. The performance invites more attentive engagement with these landscapes, and a sense of their vulnerability and vital role in the climate crisis.”

Also involved in the project is Mariecia Fraser, Professor in Upland Agroecosystems at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University, along with several artistic collaborators.

The project has been supported by CO2RE, the UK’s national research hub on Greenhouse Gas Removal, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). 

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