'Woar Marking' photography workshop co facilitated with UCC scientist Jesse Peterson for the UCC Climate Science and Arts Practice
Arts & Sustainability Event
Arts & Sustainability Event
In November 2025, I co-facilitated a workshop with scientist Jesse Peppers titled 'Woar Marking' for 40 participants as part of the UCC Climate Science and Arts Practice: Arts & Sustainability event. Jesse and I were paired through an artist/scientist pilot programme with University College Cork, where we began exploring similarities in our practices around coastal landscapes, seaweed species, and algae. Our research focused on how some coastal environments in Dublin and Cork have historically and contemporarily been sites of tension, conflict, and slow violence, alongside a largely forgotten language and cultural history associated with seaweed harvesting.
Together, we investigated ecological photographic techniques including long exposure photography, lumen printing, and pinhole photography as methods to document these contested coastal sites. We also explored seaweed-based processes such as kelp ink making, traditional herbarium pressing, and ecological 35mm film development using seaweed.
This research culminated in a hands-on workshop for the UCC Climate Science and Arts Practice event. Participants used three types of kelp ink that we produced, alongside wet and dried seaweed collected from sites of historical seaweed conflicts in Dublin and contemporary seaweed conflicts Cork, to create marks directly onto photographic paper. The works were then left to develop in sunlight, changing gradually over the course of the day. Woar is an old term for seaweed, while marking refers to the practice of gathering seaweed, a process historically linked to the Seaweed Wars along the north-east coast of Dublin.
Ecological Seaweed Super 8 Film Shooting and Developing Workshop with Creative Spark Dundalk
In October 2025, I facilitated a workshop focused on shooting and developing black-and-white Super 8 film using ecological and sustainable darkroom chemicals made from seaweed and everyday non toxic materials.
In this hands-on workshop, participants learned how to shoot black-and-white Super 8 film using
my Eumig Nautica camera, one of the rare Super 8 cameras designed to capture footage both above
and below water.
my Eumig Nautica camera, one of the rare Super 8 cameras designed to capture footage both above
and below water.
I guided the participants through the process of creating eco-friendly, DIY film developers made
from foraged seaweed and other non-toxic, everyday materials. We also made a low-toxicity eco-fixer
as a sustainable alternative to conventional darkroom fixer. Together, we developed and fix the Super 8
footage using these ecological chemicals.
from foraged seaweed and other non-toxic, everyday materials. We also made a low-toxicity eco-fixer
as a sustainable alternative to conventional darkroom fixer. Together, we developed and fix the Super 8
footage using these ecological chemicals.
We also projected the developed film made during the session. After the workshop, I provided a digital scanned version of the film, ensuring each participant has access to the collective results of the day’s work.
Analogue Images by Kev O'Farrell
Ecological Super 8 Film Shooting and Developing Workshop with Leitrim Sculpture Centre
In April 2024, I facilitated a private one-on-one workshop for a resident at Leitrim Sculpture Centre who wanted to learn how to shoot Super 8 film and develop it using natural processes, as her analog photographic practice focuses on ecological methods. Together, we created a homemade caffenol developer and used the bucket development method to process the film. Due to time constraints, we opted for a commercially available eco-friendly fixer instead of creating a homemade ecological fixer. I also taught her how to use and shoot my Erming Nautica Super 8 camera.
Embracing Your Femininity through Printmaking and Creative College with the Women from the Inside Collective
The Women from the Inside collective held exclusive Embracing Your Femininity printing and collage workshop on the 8th of March 2024 at the People's Museum Limerick. In honour of International Women’s Day, we invited the women who have participated in our collective over the past year to come together in a collaborative and creative space.
During this workshop, participants explored cyanotype printmaking and experimental collage-making experimenting with the theme of femininity.
