My photographic installation 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it' analyses human-nature relationships through the lens of the legacy of the christianisation of Ireland. Christianity, with its deeply anthropocentric views and teachings, differs greatly from the Pagan traditions of reverence and close relationship to the land in pre-Christian times. Through this project I imagine what was lost, both physically and spiritually, with the eradication of Celtic Paganism in Ireland. Sitka Spruce monoculture plantations, which have come to replace natural spaces, are the backdrop to my images. These haunting, lifeless, man-made forests encapsulate the modern, exploitative views of nature. Two photographic images are mounted on glass in triptych form and encountered as stained-glass windows while the third is a framed triptych. The photos are accompanied by two wooden blocks, which I carved into bowls, holding pine sap and pine needles, all of which stem from the plantation where the photos were shot in.
