Blue-green algae from Lough Neagh displayed during Belfast Photo Festival

Independent

19 hours ago

The plight of Lough Neagh is being highlighted by a major festival with blue-green algae from the lough being displayed in a water cooler.
Images of the toxic substance are also being shown on digital billboards as part of the Belfast Photo Festival.
Blue-green algae returned to Lough Neagh in April after noxious blooms covered large swathes of the UK's largest freshwater lake by surface area during the previous two summers and also affected other waterways and beaches in the region.
The stark highlighting of the issue comes as this year's festival focuses on 'biosphere'.
Five photographers collaborated with conservation groups and local communities across Northern Ireland to visualise the fragility and beauty of the natural heritage, with focus on Lough Neagh, peatland, marine areas, the wider Belfast Hills, and temperate rainforests.
The co-curated narratives and photographic works are being showcased and discussed across 10 exhibitions and more than 12 events in Belfast and throughout Northern Ireland as part of this year's festival.
Shallow Waters by Joe Laverty, which is on display at Antrim Lough Shore and on digital billboards across Belfast, focuses on Lough Neagh.
Toby Smith, a director at Belfast Photo Festival, said the images show the urgency of their exhibitions.
'As Belfast Photo Festival 2025 launches, we are displaying images of Lough Neagh's toxic blue-green algae on digital billboards across the city,' he said.
'These striking visuals mark the urgency of our exhibitions on Northern Ireland's natural heritage.
'Already, small blooms are appearing around the lough, a warning of the widespread danger, disruption and public concern experienced in previous years.
'These images are not only a warning, but a reflection of how the root causes of this environmental crisis remain unaddressed.'
He said three deactivated water coolers filled with contaminated water from the lough and safely sealed have been installed at their Photobook Library in Botanic Gardens, the Ulster Museum and at Belfast Exposed.
'Clearly branded with official public health warning stickers, these installations – which contain algal bloom, slurry scum from tributaries, and water from industrial outflow – complement the Shallow Waters project and offer a visceral encounter with the pollution entering a vital ecosystem and the source of around 40% of Northern Ireland's drinking water,' he added.
Artist Laverty said he wanted to tell the story of the lough, which he said was 'dying in front of us'.
'It is fighting a perfect storm of largely man-made conditions that threaten to destroy its ecosystem,' he said.
'Decades of pollution from intensive farming and industry, an inefficient wastewater management system, and industrial sand dredging, coupled with the invasion of zebra mussels and the lough's naturally shallow waters, have resulted in an annual bloom of toxic blue-green algae which results in the lough being out of bounds for most people for nearly half the year.
'This mismanagement of what should be the jewel in the crown of Northern Ireland's natural heritage has resulted in an environmental catastrophe, causing a dramatic loss of habitat and species around the lough. It's a real blow to our heritage and tradition.
'It has also seen a loss of livelihood for many people, particularly the eel fishers, who have had their season temporarily paused after only a few weeks this year because of the quality of the catch.
'With Shallow Waters, I am trying to weave a thread of connection between the tradition of the lough, and the impact of heavy industry and intensive farming which are hugely problematic for the lough's future. I have tried to take a long, slow look at the lough, photographing around the edges of the issues, to find a quieter truth in amongst people's stories and the landscape.
'Photography, at its best, is about storytelling and I really believe there is a story worth telling about Lough Neagh.'
The festival features animated public spaces in Belfast and beyond, with exhibitions from a host of local and international visual artists alongside a programme of partner exhibitions, talks, workshops and screenings.
This year's festival, which is supported by Arts Council Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Fluxus, and Alexander Boyd Displays invites viewers to explore new imagery, commissions and projects that spark positive change in how we view and inhabit our shared Earth.
Belfast Photo Festival runs until June 30. For more information, visit www.belfastphotofestival.com.