Vraiqu’sie: Visit to Société Jersiaise archives

29 July 2024, Written by Karen le Roy Harris

Last week six artists gathered together for the first time to start their research journey for Vraiqu’sie. Our initial visit was to the Société Jersiaise archives on Pier Road, where we were all mesmerised by the collections.

We began with Librarian Valérie Noël, who had laid out a selection from the extensive collection of Victorian seaweed pressings dating from the 1850s-1880s. She shared the story of how the key to this collection had been lost for several years, leaving the pressings unseen and locked away. Her delight in finally unveiling them and setting her eyes upon them was palpable.

We had the absolute privilege of opening large books and carefully folded booklets that may not have been opened for over 100 years. What struck us was the level of care and curiosity exhibited by the many different women who collected and pressed these seaweeds from Jersey’s coastline. They were beautifully presented and laid out on the paper as though they were alive, floating in water. These women had somehow captured the essence and liveliness of the seaweed, preserving its movement as if it were still alive.

We were astonished by the sheer amount and diversity of seaweed species and the careful scientific identification of each. We could sense the many characters of the various seaweeds that had been captured. We imagined these women walking across the island’s bays, carefully observing and identifying the different species and their properties. There was a feeling of intimacy as we connected with these women who had walked this land many years before us. We felt a deep gratitude for the knowledge gained and preserved through their observations and the way they immersed themselves in the process. We reflected on the slow, deliberate pace at which they moved, learning from the land and sea, embodying this knowledge through active looking. This felt missing from the rapid pace of our lives today. We realised how much we had missed, how we had failed to see the many colours, forms, and properties, and the sheer scale of the variety of seaweeds in our waters. We felt excited to be on this journey—to slow down, to look, and to learn.

We also wondered what had changed since these books were made 150-170 years ago. With climate change and rising sea temperatures, have some of these species died out? Have new species arrived? And what does this mean for the island's biodiversity?

We later moved upstairs, where Rochelle Merhet introduced us to the Photo Archive, where we looked at Vraiqu’sie (seaweed gathering) images. Vraiqu’sie, the name of this artist research project, connects strongly to the island's agricultural heritage and its native language Jèrriais—a language rich in land-based knowledge. The name also represented the social aspect of gathering—how we, as a group, were coming together to collaboratively learn about seaweed and share our knowledge with each other and the wider community.

The photographs transported us to a time when people and horses gathered to collect seaweed used as fertiliser for the land. We imagined these community occasions where people came together for a common purpose, sharing hands and knowledge. A community, a culture, and a relationship with the ocean and land that had since depleted. The scale of the work was vast, with huge piles of gathered seaweed resembling surreal monumental sculptures along the land. I wondered what a magnificent sight it would have been. The carts pulled by horses were overflowing with seaweed, and some people were knee-deep in water, gathering the seaweed in all its liveliness.

The act of gathering felt alive and connected, and I longed to know more about this land and sea—to reconnect once again through doing. In a time of climate change and the prevalence of cash monoculture and chemical fertilisers, we pondered the knowledge held by those that once gathered and how it could help us move forward, reconnect, and care for the land and each other.

After just one research visit, we were all buzzing with ideas and eagerness to learn more. I felt a true coming together of our diverse artistic disciplines and how we could learn together and from one another as a collective. 

For more information about Vraiqu’sie - visit the project page here.

All images are taken from the Société Jersiaise archives. *Please note that although seaweed pressings were predominantly carried out by women - there are some references to men and in one case a couple doing this activity.

Vraiqu'sie is supported by the Jersey Community Foundation with funds from the Channel Islands Lottery and with support in kind from Société Jersiaise, Aspiring Jersey Island Geopark and Jersey Heritage.