THE CHURN
In 1962, Ireland was a new country. Seeking quick economic modernisation after years of serving the British occupying state, the government planned a partly state-run factory to produce nitrogenous fertiliser. While it fertilised the fields that supported Ireland’s dairy industry, it did not nourish the land, polluting the Avoca river that runs through the town and into the Irish sea. The factory stood near the site of an older, derelict factory from the period of British occupation. It produced weapons and explosives for the British Army. Nitro-glycerine explosives made in this factory were used in the British imperial war in South Africa. This exceptionally violent conflict continues to cast a shadow today in current settler colonial violence.
In our discussion group, we will explore the long legacy of colonialism and its role in current environmental and political crises. When postcolonial states give in to capitalism, violence and extractivism remain. Who really owns the land?
How do we imagine a different set of social relations? We will start with the nitrogen molecule. We’ll follow this atom as it circulates from the Earth’s atmosphere, to explosives, to agricultural fertiliser and environmental pollutant. We’ll discuss how chemicals and commodities move through power structures and the connected bodies of humans, animals, plants, soil, air and machines.
During the session, we’ll go on a journey through the factory’s archive, to explore and critique what materials are available for telling stories about the land, extraction and violence.
Grace Whorrall-Campbell is a UK-based researcher, archivist and creative practitioner. Grace completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2024 on the history of psychiatry, psychoanalysis and postwar capitalism in Britain. Grace’s research interests include the history of mental health, capitalism, the politics of groups, gender, sexuality and disability.
Grace works across moving image and audio, often working in collaboration. Facilitation is an important part of Grace’s practice, and has facilitated sessions at Art/Work Association, Goldsmiths, University of London; the NewBridge Project, Newcastle; and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin.
28th of June 2025
4.30-6pm
This is an in-person event.
The event language is English.
Whisper translation to German available upon prior notification.
Our location is not wheelchair accessible. We apologise. Please get in touch for any questions regarding accessibility and we will try to adjust and/or help.