DOHMNAIN
An immersive art installation exploring the hidden ecology of Clennon Gorge Nature Reserve
Created in collaboration with our partners: NooN Art Collective, Filament, and English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark. Funded by the British Arts Council.
Amphibian Ark | 1 August – 1 September 2025 | FREE with zoo admission
This summer, visitors to Paignton Zoo can experience DOMHNAIN, a one-of-a-kind immersive art installation that celebrates the underground networks sustaining one of Devon’s most precious ecosystems.
The ground-breaking artwork is the creation of acclaimed creative collective NooN Arts, working in collaboration with Filament and English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark. This innovative project represents a first-of-its-kind fusion of conservation science and digital artistry, made possible through the British Council International Collaboration Grant.
The newly commissioned 12-minute multimedia experience is housed within the zoo’s Amphibian Ark. It focuses on the hidden world of Clennon Gorge Nature Reserve, creating a ‘digital double’ of this fragile limestone ecosystem using extensive real-world data captured in collaboration with Paignton Zoo’s conservation team.
Journey into the mysterious underground networks normally hidden from view beneath this ancient 60-acre woodland. Discover the invisible “wood wide web” of mycorrhizal networks – the fungal threads that connect trees in complex communication systems, sustaining biodiversity through mutual dependence.
Through hypnotic visuals and ambient soundscapes, DOMHNAIN creates a contemplative space that reveals the secret connections thriving beneath your feet. Experience the flow of nutrients and information through underground networks that have sustained this landscape for centuries.
The installation invites you to explore the karst cave systems and alkaline soils that make Clennon Gorge so unique, while reflecting on our role as stewards of these fragile ecosystems where every species exists in mutual dependence.
As part of the experience, enhance your visit with our Nature Trail through the publicly accessible sections of Clennon Gorge, connecting the digital art experience with the real landscape that inspired it.
DOMHNAIN runs throughout August in the Amphibian Ark
Free with zoo admission
Pull a thread here and you’ll find it’s attached to the rest of the world.”
— Nadeem Aslam
Domhnain means ‘land’ in Celtic.
This 12-minute immersive artwork explores the hidden ecology of Clennon Gorge Nature Reserve – its underground caves, streams, and ancient woodland that shelter some of the UK’s most endangered species, including greater and lesser horseshoe bats.
Inspired by the invisible networks of fungi that connect forests through the ‘wood wide web,’ Domhnain reveals how mycelium enables trees to communicate and share resources.
In our oldest oak forests, these fungal webs can survive 4,000 years—outliving even thousand-year-old trees and carrying ancient knowledge across generations.
This meditation on interconnection invites you to consider our role as stewards of delicate ecosystems, where every species exists in mutual dependence. Change one part, and you affect the whole.
About Clennon Gorge Nature Reserve
Take time to look, listen, and sense what is visible. Imagine what you cannot see or hear…
The Nature Trail experience
The Nature Trail offers visitors a chance to explore this remarkable ecosystem firsthand. The trail follows historical cart tracks and takes you through different habitats within the reserve
Imagine the underground cave network beneath your feet—home to bats, moths, and other rare insects. By night, these skies fill with lesser and greater horseshoe bats hunting above you.
Sit and observe the ancient canopy—oaks, hazel, ash, and beech, some over 100 years old. The benches are carved from these same trees, making use of the mighty trunks felled by storms. Watch for birds of prey soaring the skies. Listen for the calls of songbirds and seabirds.
Look closely for mushrooms on ground, dead wood, and tree bark. What you see is just the tip—underground, mycelium creates the ‘wood wide web,’ connecting trees and sharing nutrients across the entire woodland.
This valley was carved by glacial ice millennia ago. Imagine the megafauna of the Ice Age stomping through this landscape. All that remains today of this ice is the tranquil stream flowing to ponds beyond the reserve. These create vital wetland habitats for unique species of amphibians, fish, and insects.
Tread lightly, leave only footprints behind. You and everything around you are part of an interconnected whole...
Wild Planet Trust | British Council International Collaboration Grant | UNESCO Global Geoparks | Filament | Noon Collective
