Bodies of Knowledge

Bodies of Knowledge is a research-driven art project that examines the life and legacy of Annie Massy, a distinguished but overlooked conchologist. The project began with an absence—an empty picture frame labeled ‘Annie Massy outside her house in Howth.’ This void encapsulates not just the erasure of Massy from historical narratives but the broader exclusion of women from the dominant structures of knowledge production.

Through an ecofeminist lens, Bodies of Knowledge interrogates the hierarchies that shape how we value different landscapes and bodies. The terrestrial bias in natural history has long privileged land-based study, relegating the blue spaces of sea and sky—Massy’s domain—to the periphery of scientific importance. Her work, focused on marine mollusks and seabirds, resided in these liminal spaces, mirroring the marginal position of women in science.

By physically engaging with the places Massy lived and studied, and by working with the specimens she collected—now housed in the National Museum of Ireland, Natural History—the project creates a tangible connection across time. Archival research at the Natural History Museum London and the National Botanic Gardens Dublin further uncovers traces of her intellectual contributions.

This project does not seek to simply reconstruct a biography but to challenge the boundaries of historical visibility. It embraces the idea that knowledge is relational—held within bodies, landscapes, and material traces. Through art, it reimagines what has been lost, offering new ways to see and value the overlooked.

Supported by the Arts Council of Ireland's Agility Award and Kultur Stadt Bern's BLICKE. Works were produced with technical assistance from Northlands Creative Glass and Niesenglass Switzerland.

A publication with a black and white image of four oyster shells. Below is a clear plastic box containing real shells, beside them is a hand written label on old, yellowing paper.

A beach with a glittering stream of water running out to join the sea. In the distance a hazy piece of headland is visible.

A collection of wall mounted grey glass shells. Matt in texture and to scale. They are arranged organically dispersed up the wall.

A close up of five shells in creamy yellow tones. Some have their spiral picked out in a rich caramel brown.

A pile of wax snails. The wax is dark black brown and they are resting on a piece of black foam.

A person bends to pick something from a rock pool. There face is covered by shoulder length hair.

A glass sculpture combining a shinny black rock pool with bright snail cast glass snails. The water is represented in gold leaf.

A close up of a muscle shell with heavy textured surface. It light purple in tone and there is an inscription on the surface. It reads: 76. 1920 Malahide, Coll. Massy.

A close up of a glass sculpture combining a shinny black rock pool with small brown glass snails. The water is represented in gold leaf.

The lower half of a person sitting in a glass blowing bench. They are using a spoon-like wooden tool to space glowing molten glass.

A long corridor of metal storage containers. florescent lights bounce of the metal surfaces. An empty trolley sits at the end.

A wooden drawer filled with small carboard boxes with transparent lids. Through the lids a collections of shells and hand written labels are visible.

A small grey glass bowl with a white oyster shell 'growing' out of it. The shells layers are highlighted in gold.

A beach in the sunshine. Blue concrete steps lead to the se. People are busy on the sand and swimming in the fresh looking water.

Two glass bell jars containing real snail shells. In the background is a display of historical publications related to Annie Massy.