Book Launch: Stray Sod by Maria Lax

Stray Sod investigates the phenomenon of the same name in Irish folklore: enchanted patches of earth that will lead astray whoever steps on them. Inspired by first-hand accounts found in the National Folklore Collection, Maria Lax reimagines rural Irish landscapes through this otherworldly lens. 

The stories describe instances in which individuals are forced to navigate a world characterised by sudden shifts into unfamiliarity and strangeness. A world in which established reference points distort and slip away, causing great distress to those experiencing it. Stray Sod draws timely parallels between these stories and the destabilising effects of the fast-changing political and technological environment of today.

Maria Lax is a Finnish photographer and director based in London. Maria’s work was recently on display at The National Portrait Gallery as part of the Taylor Wessing Portrait Photo Prize, and has been exhibited in over 14 countries. Lax has published two photographic books, Taken by the Tide (Nazraeli Press, 2023) and Some Kind of Heavenly Fire (Setanta Books, 2020), both with sold-out editions, and the latter with a cult following. Stray Sod is her third book.

Her commercial portfolio includes collaborations with leading brands such as Apple, Channel 4, Vogue Italia, Chanel, Virgin Records, and Samsung. Her first directing job was one of the multi-award-winning Channel 4 idents, and since then she has been nominated for the Young Directors Award in Cannes 2025, and ‘Most Promising Commercial Director’ by the Creative Circle Awards 2025. Her still photography credits span a number of feature films and long-form series, including the Apple Original series Disclaimer starring Cate Blanchett, and Anemone, the anticipated return to acting from Daniel Day-Lewis.  

Jonny Dillon is Interim Director of the National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin. He has published articles and delivered papers on the history and theory of folklore archives, as well as on aspects of Irish folk custom, with Routledge, EUT+Academic Press, the Royal Irish Academy, the Archives and Records Association of Ireland, and in Béaloideas, the journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society. 

The National Folklore Collection is a UNESCO-recognised folklore archive, and one of Europe’s largest archives of oral tradition and cultural history, based at University College Dublin.

Setanta Books is a photobook publisher and bookseller whose collection has more than 10,000 books and growing. Setanta are passionate about contemporary and fine art photography books, working with a range of artists, including Bruce Gilden, Jill Freedman, Laia Abril, Seamus Murphy, Josh Edgoose, Joshua K Jackson, Monaris, and many others.

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