Mossing — carolinevitzthumstudio

Caroline Vitzthum

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Mossing (2021-), field studies, digital and 35mm colour photography.

Mossing is an ongoing photographic series documenting mosses in the field, emerging from a sustained interest in bryology – the study of mosses – and the ecosystems they inhabit. The title borrows a formally non-existent word used informally by bryologists to describe the act of going out into the field to look for and study mosses. Mossing describes a specific way of seeing: it requires heightened awareness, keen observation, and a sensitivity to minute details. In practice, it often involves a slowed pace, a lowered posture, and deliberate movements that allow these small, often hidden plants to reveal themselves.

The project seeks to understand mosses within their native habitats, observing the intricate ecological relationships they form and the microclimates they support. Mosses are often overlooked due to their size, yet they play a vital role in regulating moisture, stabilising soils, sequestering carbon, and creating complex miniature habitats that sustain diverse forms of life.

Photography here functions on two levels: as a documentary tool for identifying and recording different moss species, and as an artistic medium for exploring their diversity, intricacy, and form. The resulting images reveal the rich variety of colours, patterns, and structures that might otherwise go unnoticed at a casual glance, inviting viewers to slow down, look closely, and reconsider the value of these humble plants.

Although the photographs have not yet been formally printed or exhibited, they currently serve as an evolving archive – capturing, appreciating, and studying mosses in their natural environments, while laying the groundwork for future artistic presentations of the work.