Curated by Catherine Marshall, “Protectorate” is a photographic exhibition and installation, which expands on ideas originally explored by photographer Denis Mortell in his MFA Degree exhibition at Goldsmiths College, London, in 2019.
Using the phenomenon of Brexit as a starting point, the exhibition considers themes such as Britishness, cultural difference, and social and political history. It looks at how myth and myth making, memory and place form part of national identity and community.
While some images reflect on borders, borderlands and territory; a puritan approach to food and the ironies of daily life are also commented on. The viewer is asked to consider what is really being protected and why. How much is real, how much is myth?

Photographer Denis Mortell and Curator Catherine Marshall take a tour through the gallery and discuss the images that make up Denis' exhibition 'Protectorate' - this guide is available to visitors to South Tipp Arts Centre as a QR code that can be accessed with a mobile device in the gallery, and provides an insight into the artists motivations and inspirations for this body of work.
The exhibition runs from July 30th to August 22nd, 2020.
For further info email info@southtippartscentre.ie