Catriona Leahy   

The Sartorial Gesture of Repair

In ‘The Sartorial Gesture of Repair’, Irish artist Catriona Leahy explores the fragile relationship between humans and landscape, with the Irish peatlands as a central focus. This work builds on her long-term research project ‘Metabolic Rift’, in which Leahy links ecological damage caused by industrial peat extraction to historical, political, and economic processes. 

In the work, Leahy references both cartography and land surveying for resource extraction, as well as the careful hands of peatland conservationists, who strive to repair the damage inflicted. The title alludes to the Latin sartor, meaning tailor: someone who restores, alters, and repairs. From this perspective, Leahy employs the weaving process as a metaphor for the careful restoration of a wounded landscape and its layered, contested history. 

The work was exhibited from 11 October 2025 to 4 January 2026 in ‘COMPLEET: Van de Kaart’ at CC Sint-Niklaas, a show presented by WARP Contemporary Art Platform.