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subscribe with RSSPhotographer and Filmmaker Niall O’Brien made his solo debut this month with an exhibition of photography of London’s pierced and punked. Good Rats marks the first large exhibition of work from ‘Superheroes’ – an ongoing project that has seen O’Brien living alongside, and observing the lives of, a group of young punks from South-West London over the last three years.
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During this time, the artist has seen the group begin to grow from adolescents to young men, following them on their adventures from Brighton to Berlin and documenting their exploits. O’Brien has created a series of photographs so strikingly beautiful that, at first glance, they might belie their raw, uninhibited and primal content. Gradually earning the trust of the group, which to others may seem entirely impenetrable, has enabled him to gain access to some particularly personal and poignant moments in the lives of his subjects. O’Brien captures these with an honesty and respect that makes these images and episodes all the more visceral and affecting.
How did you find your subjects featured in Good Rats? I was commissioned to make a film nearly four years ago. I wanted it to be about youth - a sort of voyeuristic vox-pop type film. A colleague of mine found Turkish (one of the first kids I photographed) in Camden. After spending time with him and his friends I realised I couldn't finish it there and I’ve been photographing the group ever since.
What was your relationship with them and is this ongoing? It took almost 2 years for the kids to trust me, at the start this was to my advantage, as they would tend to ignore me which made more realistic and natural pictures. After an incident when I gave myself up for arrest for them they realised I was ok. After that they would ring me up to see if I was around. I do need to keep a certain level of distance though. Keeping distance and not interfering with the subjects is how I want to approach it. It does get harder as time goes by and we get more familiar.
How long was the process of documenting their day to day lives? And did theirs in turn become your day to day? Well the project is far from finished, I’ve been shooting for about 4 years now and can’t see it ending any time soon. They are a part of my life now, there is rarely a week where I don’t hear from them or see them. I sometimes have to restrict the time, as it can get expensive processing all the film. I try not to let that get in the way though.
What is your camera of choice? Cheap, fast, with good auto exposure. I feel I’ve earned the right to use the A setting after four years in college and five years of photographic assisting.
Do you have any heroes (from photography or the wider visual arts)? I’m pretty bad at researching and reading photography but I’ve been a fan of Larry Clark since KIDS, and that was before I got into photography. Even thought this project isn’t a million miles from what he did, I had no part to play in orchestrating that. They came to me and I followed and treated it like a gift. I loved Clark’s work because I thought I’d never be able to befriend and gain trust with a group of kids like that. Paul Graham is amazing too. I tend to be a total cynic though when it comes to photography.
‘GOOD RATS’ runs until March 11th 2010 at ART WORK SPACE, Lower Ground, The Hempel Hotel, 31-35, Craven Hill Gardens, W2.
Michael commented on Monday, 01 March