Celtic Kerbscapes Press Release
Press Release
Celtic Kerbscapes
New Color Photography by Irish Photographer Fionán O’Connell at The Global Gallery, Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island, March 25-April 26, 2008.
Born in Dublin, Ireland in1961. Self-taught in photography. The strongest influences on his work are his father, Joseph O’Connell, a landscape painter and artists including Mondrian, Kandinsky, Man Ray and David Hockney. More biographical information and details of previous shows can be seen at www.fionanoconnell.com
O’Connell is reluctant to engage in any kind of pretence or intellectualization regarding his work but had this to say:
“I’ve been taking photographs for nearly thirty years now and right from the start, I saw little point in recording the standard views of anything. Early on, I took photographs of everything and anything including all the tourist sights of Europe, tens of thousands of shots before I realized the pointlessness of recording like that. Of the entire collection there are only about a dozen I see any merit in now. I’m not really interested in recording the reality of what lies around me - there are enough people doing that”.
“When I take a photograph of a piece of the road or a reflection in a shop window or the wall of an old farmyard, passers-by often stop and stare and I can see that they think I either work for the local City Council Roads Division or I must be quite crazy. I go out of my way to avoid the obvious and seek out the details which largely go un-noticed by others and, I believe, sets my work apart.”
So it comes as little surprise that this show has no sweeping Irish landscapes, no shots of Dublin’s new landmark Spire, no shots of old men sipping pints of Guinness or freckled-faced redhead children playing with a rope and an old cardboard box in some inner city slum. Instead, you are presented with a distinctive collection of images, generally people-less, a slightly skewed perception of an old country turning new, stripped back to these simple, beautiful minutiae.
O’Connell first came to Boston in 1986 and straight away fell in love with the city. He has returned every other year since and had a show at The Harbor Gallery in July 1994. The interests are similar - details, abstractions, color spaces carved up in different proportions, compositions created for their own sakes. There is a randomness to this work yet he feels that within it, there is a strong element of cohesion. The bike remains nearly as central to the making of these photographs as the camera as he still cycles everywhere and the kinds of pictures he takes very much depends on where the bike takes him. This is his life, this is how he works. However, his work has changed.
“My photography has evolved over the years in what I feel are subtle ways. I’m more selective now, more mindful of the angles and compositions and much more thought goes into each shot. I like to think that the images are somewhat more sophisticated in their design, the color palette and the feelings they try to evoke. There is a lot going on in some of the images and a almost opposite simple calm in others. They are not attempting to say anything, to make any statement or to be in any way more than they seem. They aspire only to pleasing the eye. I like to think one of these splashes of Irish color would complement the living environment.”
O’Connell’s photographs show at The Global Gallery at Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island from March 25th- April 26th, 2008.
For further information, call Marcy Farrell on (401) 254 5625.
ENDS
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Fionán O'Connell will guest as a Visiting Lecturer at Roger Williams University from March 25th-28th, 2008. His time will include an Exhibition of his work, Celtic Kerbscapes at The Global Gallery, two Course Guest Lectures, a Presentation Lecture at The Mary Tefft White Cultural Centre and a Practical Workshop with High School students from the Bridge To Success program at the Intercultural Center.
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The show was extremely well received, the glowing reactions of all reflected in the Visitors Book. While the lectures went well, it was wonderful to have the show in the gallery outside to properly illustrate the work.
In many ways, the most important aspect of the project was in the one-to-one work with the students. They were extremely receptive, their questions well considered and genuinely interested in the whole area of seeing things differently. Working on their individual portfolios, I found the sessions refreshing- their openness to the very basics of photography and uniqueness of their young eyes had the unexpected effect of giving me quite a boost personally. They were so free of any constrictions or worries about doing anything which might have been done before that their work displayed a lovely, personal, individual feel. While each student did, of course, lap up the tons of praised I gave their work, they were extremely welcoming of any thoughts I had on how particular images might be strengthened.
It was gratifying to hear students tell me that the few hours with me changed their approach to taking photographs; several returned the following day with new shots they had taken, clearly reflecting my bit of influence- including a few interesting versions of fresh local yellow lines!
The whole experience was most rewarding and I hope that I'll cross paths with these students again.
I'd like to thank Roxanne O'Connell, Kate Mele, Kate Green and Marcy Farrell for facilitating the event.
