Aishling Muller is a contemporary fine art photographer and performance artist from the midlands of Ireland. Aishling says she is inspired by nature's rhythm, and cycles of death, and rebirth, her work documents times of transition in her inner and outer worlds. In this article she shares her perspective from recent work in East Greenland; North Evia, Greece; Ireland's boglands; and Iceland.
East Greenland
The waters in the Scoresbysund in East Greenland are some of the deepest fjord systems in the world. It is a place full of movement and change. The melting receding glaciers reveal the story of our natural history more and more each year. The patterns and textures share the narratives of the times and conditions when they came to be. The air is mostly silent, with the spontaneous sounds of icebergs breaking and collapsing, moving and flipping, causing waves and echoes like gunshots. Now and again, it's possible to hear fizzing sounds as bubbles of ancient air trapped within the ice release back into our time.
The landscapes are untouched, majestic, royal, and sacred. And while the environment is strong and commanding respect, it is also so fragile, impacted, and changing day by day.
Vibrant shades of blues and whites, varying textures, rough to smooth, shiny to coarse, and transparent to dense. These are the repeating visuals of the simultaneous beauty and sadness found held within the icebergs here.
"I felt inspired, full, and connected to these scenes while, at the same time, small, insignificant, and out of place. I felt like a trespasser here. But it was a huge privilege to experience the sheer size of these icebergs towering above us as we moved through the water in our small zodiacs, equally awe-inspiring and deeply intimidating. It reminded me of the vast power of our natural world. It's been some years since I have been here. It has likely changed so much."
North Evia, Greece
In August 2021, a massive forest fire raged through North Evia in Greece for over ten days, taking with it over 600,000 acres of native woodland and leaving communities devastated in its wake.
Supported by funding from various strands from the Irish Arts Council, Aishling traveled through the region. She was able to visually follow the natural regeneration of the land, from one month after the fires up until early 2023. And as is the recovery, this work is also ongoing.
"I returned to the same places. Trees I had climbed in and on during my first visit had fallen. Scenes were unrecognisable with fresh growth. And even though I was standing in chaos, it didn't feel like it. It was more like a peaceful feeling of organized and naturally balanced chaos. So still and quiet as she transforms, with nature and its wildlife doing what they can to recover."
Irish Boglands
Returning to and creating within her homeland, Aishling has been intermittently exploring the Irish boglands of her childhood. It is a place she used to walk often with her grandfather on adventures through the wilderness.
These landscapes have been cultivated by the Irish people for generations. Reports suggest that the tradition dates back to over one thousand years ago. Irish families traditionally harvested the land for turf each year, fuelling their domestic heating supply needs, which continues to this day. It is a topic of recent years that has become controversial. There is much debate and talk around the restriction of this type of harvesting, which is not popular among the people.
A balance needs to be found, around preservation of the landscape and protection for the wildlife, flora, and fauna that coexist here with age-old Irish tradition. There is a need to approach the land with renewed respect so both man and nature can continue to thrive and reap the benefits from these lands.
"Memories from childhood remind me of a wild and wet style of wandering, where often one of us would fall into a soggy hole and lose one of our shoes. It is an ongoing challenge and area for concern examining how best to protect these marshy wetlands while also keeping the deep-rooted tradition of our people's connection to the landscape intact. The landscapes have changed so much in the short years since I walked these landscapes as a child. Wet landscapes are now dried up."
Iceland
Iceland is a land in constant flux, movement, and reinvention. Its cascading waterfalls, glacial melt, bubbling earth, iceberg lagoons, receding icecaps, and volcanoes all contribute to the surreal and dramatic changes within its landscape formation. The debris in its terrain, the sediment of its melt, and the scars left from its movement reveal its past and simultaneous future in this earth's newest and most rapidly changing landmass.
The energy of transformation within its terrain is palpable, an immensely profound environment. It shares with man its breath, life, growth, and devastation, painted vividly through color, texture, light, and expression.
"Pointing a lens on this experience required deep listening, adapting myself to her pace, tuning in to a dialogue while bowing to the raw, majestic, and otherworldly authority she commands. She kept me on my toes, reactive and responsive to her climate. I was moved to tears in awe of her beauty and immense power and humbled by her serene presence during the years when I called this land my home.”
