This week I’m delighted to be joined by photographer Dara McGrath, whose exhibition Project Cleansweep opens to virtual viewing on April 6th here at South Tipperary Arts Centre.

It’s a long term project, with Dara having begun his research in 2011, on reading an article about a recently published report form the British Ministry of Defence.

Project Cleansweep takes its name from this MoD report, identifying sites in the UK where tens of thousands of tonnes of mustard gas, phosgene and other lethal chemicals were, since World War 1, made, processed, stored, burned and dumped in England, Wales and Scotland.

To this day such sites remain problematic even when they have been returned to civilian usage.
The MoD released details of 'Operation Cleansweep' in 2011 to provide “reassurance” that residual contamination at UK sites did not pose a risk to human health or the environment.

This work has been exhibited in numerous locations around the UK and Ireland, sometimes very close to the actual sites mentioned in the report, and in each instance has provoked discussion and awareness in local communities of the potential residual long term damage inflicted on the land by human intervention.

As the gallery is still closed due to Covid 19 restrictions, this exhibition will be viewable virtually, and there will be a Zoom discussion of the work, and what it means in a local context with local environmental activist Alan Moore of SuirCan (date tbc). Connect with us on social media to stay up to date!

Dara’s Website: www.daramcgrath.com

Project Cleansweep - Purchase Book
https://daramcgrath.com/publications

If you’d like to contact the podcast the email address is: southtippartspodcast@gmail.com

Thanks for listening!