Each one started, each one started, each one started: A Reader for The Long Grass (2022–24), Christopher Steenson

Each one started, each one started, each one started is a publication designed to contextualise and expand upon the ideas explored in Christopher Steenson’s artwork The Long Grass (2022–2024).

Taking the form of a 35mm slide projection, this work takes on a number of perspectives, encompassing issues related to nature conservation, contested land use, (post-)colonial identity and belonging. The artwork’s subject matter stems from long-term research surrounding the corncrake — a bird that has taken on symbolic meaning in relation to Irish independence. Once prosperous and widespread across Ireland and Britain, the corncrake was known as the sound of the Irish summer, with its distinctive call permeating the countryside’s soundscape. The corncrake is now almost extinct, due to the rapid development in mechanised farming over the last fifty years.

The Long Grass draws together various phrases and moments stemming from field research, alongside texts from oral histories of the Troubles in the North of Ireland, interviews with the artist’s family members, and the National Folklore Collection. These sources, which sometimes originate from oppositional points of view, represent a multitude of experiences, ranging from Irish farmers’ feelings towards the EU, to second-hand recollections of army patrols during the North of Ireland conflict.

Functioning as a ‘reader’, Each one started, elaborates upon on various themes contained within The Long Grass artwork. Through a series of short essays, the work's various slides are thematically grouped to explore the power struggles between the individual and the state, from both human and more-than-human perspectives.

Self Published 
Edition of 100
Softcover, Black Wiro Bound
79 pages
155 x 210 mm