Dog Only Knows

Artist book, Allenheads Contemporary Arts – As Above So Below residency, 2017

Dog Only Knows was developed through repeated underground mine walks in the North Pennines during the As Above So Below residency at Allenheads Contemporary Arts. The work emerged from my experience of cancer and recovery, using descent into the mine as a way of reflecting on journeys through uncertainty, vulnerability and transformation.

The title was inspired by a phrase found on an old mine map: “I promised you a thorough route, how we got there God only knows.” The words resonated with the unpredictable paths of both underground exploration and personal experience. During the project, a natural underground pigment formation resembling a dog became another layer of meaning within the work — connecting the instinctive knowledge of the non-human with the hidden processes of the geological world.

Made using handmade paper, found materials and bound in lead, the artist book carries physical weight and material memory. Fragments gathered through walking and underground observation are incorporated into its pages, becoming tactile records of place, endurance and encounter.

The work brings together geological depth, bodily experience and more-than-human awareness, exploring how landscapes can hold stories of industry, transformation and personal history.