Cian Burke: a world on edge

When a booklet from the Swedish government landed in Cian Burke's letterbox four years ago, its potential for his photographic practice wasn't immediately apparent. Titled If Crisis or War Comes, it gave every household in Sweden advice and information for dealing with an invasion. Burke admits that he initially dismissed the booklet as melodramatic. Originally from Dublin and educated at Glasgow School of Art with an MFA from Valand Academy, Gothenburg, Burke has exhibited in Sweden, Germany, Hungary and Japan. While his earlier work involved the hidden aspects of city spaces, this latest project drew him to a remote part of southern Sweden and a 'bunker house' built over many years by a farmer who had received the Cold War version of the booklet.