New Work by Siân Martin for UNmaking

Siân Martin: Peat Making: A Personal Dialogue with the History of the Somerset Levels

The history of this part of Somerset has fascinated me since I moved here over 40 years ago. The making of peat takes millions of years for the vegetation to decay as it accumulates in layers in this marshy area. 

In recent times, the age-old practice of extracting peat has created large expanses that naturally filled with water. Today, these areas encourage wildlife, helping conservation organisations to create the most serene and beautiful place to study and observe. 

I and two artist friends decided to spend regular time in this area, visiting it once a week during a whole year, together to draw, photograph and generally 'absorb' the magical atmosphere. We presented a series of resolved pieces together in a successful local exhibition. An important aim of this project was to raise awareness of the importance of this area of Somerset, showing the beauty of the Somerset Levels to gallery-going public and by exhibiting artwork (in bird boxes). As Sir David Attenborough noted, you need to know about and love an area to be motivated to help protect it.

When the theme of 'UNMAKING' was decided on by the Textile Study Group, I speculated that it connected well with my study of the gradual results of natural peat-making and also with my passion for environmental conservation.

My interest in changing the nature of a woven structure (linen scrim) by pulling apart and unravelling the threads is probably similar to the traditional 'pulled work' embroidery method, but creates a new, more organic lace-like structure that reflects the evolving organic process of the land that eventually changed it to peat.

This ' UNMAKING ' process is evolving for me as I consider how I might re-process the threads pulled out of the woven fabrics, looking at a form of re-cycling. Working with just the loose threads has been a freeing and important discovery in many different ways and gives me a wider vocabulary.

In these three finished pieces, the loose threads are bonded together using a sustainable compound CMC paste. This creates a new ‘fabric’, which I feel relates back to the way the ancient land of Somerset was created from decaying organic material to become a rich land that gave people a sustainable livelihood. Small settlements evolved on the raised land, with the lower, more fertile land farmed in the summer. The name ‘Somerset’ evolved from the old name of 'land of the summer people'.

During the winter, the lower lands of the Somerset Levels flood, replenishing the richness of the ground. To reach neighbouring settlements, people used their local raw materials to create accessible pathways across the marshlands which would have been impassible in winter.

I've speculated that Neolithic people might have evolved symbols as guides when walking along these raised pathways between settlements. Symbols I learnt as a Girl Guide for my ‘Navigation’ badge taught me that directions could be given by knotting long grasses and entwining small twigs in certain ways to imply ‘turn left’ or ‘turn right’. Perhaps our present-day road signs can be said to have evolved from this traditional Guiding practice, using simple shapes such as circles with crossing lines. These symbols have been used in the two pieces - ‘Ancient Waymarks’ and ‘Path’.

Through unmaking, reclaiming, and rebuilding, this work bridges the raw materials of my textile practice with the deep, sustainable history of the land I call home.

In Conversation With Siân Martin

You’ve lived near and observed the Somerset Levels for many years. How did your ideas evolve into physically unravelling linen scrim to represent this special landcape?

A period of intense study, visiting Avalon Marshes one morning each week for a year. Observation and drawing showed me a wonderful patterning of grasses, willow and reflections, suggested arrays of threads to me.

At what point in the unravelling process did you realise the waste threads themselves were the true medium, and how did that new non-woven surface behave compared to traditional cloth?

Multiple samples of withdrawn threads that produced wonderful lacey effects and a heap of organic piles of threads.

You draw a fascinating parallel between your reconstructive textile process and the ancient wooden trackways built across the marshlands. How did you translate those imagined visual markers and guiding symbols into the physical structure of the finished piece?

Reading about the history of the environment drew a fascinating story of how pathways were constructed across the marshes, especially the discovery of the 'Sweet Track' excavated by Ray Sweet a century ago made of a series of wooden planks. I'm fascinated by local history and evidence found in today's world. To reach neighbouring settlements, people used their local raw materials to create accessible pathways across the marshlands which would have been impassible in winter. Symbols I learnt as a Girl Guide for my ‘Tracking' badge taught me that directions could be given by knotting long grasses and entwining small twigs in certain ways to imply ‘turn left’ or ‘turn right’. Perhaps our present-day road signs can be said to have evolved from this traditional Guiding practice, using simple shapes such as circles with crossing lines. These symbols have been used in the two pieces - ‘Ancient Waymarks’ and ‘Path’.

The cycle of peat formation relies on centuries of decay to create something new, much like your process of dismantling fabric to rebuild it. Do you see this piece as a reflection on environmental conservation, or is it primarily a personal dialogue with the history of the land?

A combination of both. I find it intriguing to learn how people have used elements from their environment so imaginatively to enhance and ease their lives; living simply and re-using materials is a strong element of mine.

The unique landscape of the Somerset Levels and its peat heritage are not widely known. How do you see the future and preservation of this landscape that you know so well?

Avalon Marshes is an award-winning scheme of conservation and has strong aims to engage the wider audience which I'm keen to be involved in. A recent project showed artwork (in special birdboxes) on the Avalon cafe area and drawing workshops to raise awareness of this precious area and an exhibition in a local gallery.

UNmaking is currently showing at the Museum in the Park, Stroud. Be sure to check our website for details on our full programme of upcoming exhibition workshops!