Bound & Infinity presents Stemflow, a solo exhibition by artist Nick Jordan centred on sphagnum moss and its key role in the ecology of peatland habitats. Exploring human-nature relationships and co-dependencies, the exhibition features a body on new interrelated work, including film installations, sculptures, photographs, archival prints and living specimens.

Named after a term used in hydrology*, Stemflow includes a new short film, Translocations, which highlights the mutual aid and reciprocal exchange between species, documenting the re-introduction and transference of sphagnum moss across a restored peatland on the edge of Manchester. Featuring the voice of botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, and a tactile soundtrack score, the film depicts the human and more-than-human life, energies and actions that are transforming an intensively farmed and damaged terrestrial environment back into a flourishing wetland habitat, helping to mitigrate the impacts of the climate crisis.

The exhibition also features Accumulations, cast resin spherical sculptures containing suspended examples of sphagnum moss, lichens and plants that thrive in peatland environments; Cultivations, living plant and moss specimens the artist has grown, presented in salvaged laboratory glass vases and terrariums; Observations, photomicrographs, archival prints, photographs and microscope video footage of sphagnum species.

*In hydrology, stemflow is the flow of intercepted water down the trunk or stem of a plant. Stemflow, along with throughfall, is responsible for the transferral of precipitation and nutrients from the canopy to the soil. Stem flow within peatbogs refers to the interruption or holding of water across a wetland, where sphagnum moss plays a crucial role in water storage, filtration, carbon absorption and peat formation.

 

Stemflow installation views, Bound & Infinity

 

Accumulations, installation view, Stemflow, Bound & Infinity

 

Stemflow exhibition events programme:

Nov 9th:
Otis Jordan and Sam Mcloughlin will be performing live at Bound & Infinity.
Tickets are available to buy here: £10 standard / £5 concessions

Nov 28th - 30th:
Stemflow: A Tributary, a weekend of talks and discussions about the metamorphosis of plants, ways of urban renewal, and other projects taking place around the world which are similarly transformative. On Friday 28th there will be a screening of Sisters of the Earth: The Water Guardians, a documentary about the Pani Panchayat, a women’s movement that transformed their community in Bundelkhand through restoring their local water sources, followed by a panel discussion with Philip Franses, Minni Jain (The Flow Partnership), Nick Jordan, Damian O’Doherty, Daniel O’Sullivan, Hafsa Omar (Sow the City).

On Saturday 29th, Damian O’Doherty will present a photo-essay on the rosehip plant, bioregional economies and food networks, Daniel O’Sullivan will discuss the signature of things and how this relates to his practice as a musician and artist, and Philip Franses will give a talk on holding and seeking water, comparing Manchester’s sphagnum moss and Rajasthan’s mustard seed.

This will be followed on Sunday with a day trip to Little Woolden Moss. Looking at specimens now thriving in the restored peatland, Philip will guide studies on Goethe’s metamorphosis of plants.

Friday 28th November: 18:30 start
Saturday 29th November: 11:00 onwards
Sunday 30th November: 11:00 onwards
Patricipants are welcome to join for all or any day of the weekend.
Please RSVP
Suggested donation:
Weekend ticket: £15, solidarity rate £25. Day ticket: £10/£5.

Exhibition preview Nov 7, 2025, 18:00 - 21:00. Continues to Dec 19th.
Bound & Infinity, 70 Tib Steet, Manchester M4 1L
Open Thursday to Sunday, 12:00 til 18:00