The work of Niall O Brien is unexpectedly inspiring. I say 'unexpectedly' because it generally takes a serious subject to lift a photographer above ‘run of the mill’ and a three year project documenting one of the least sympathetic groups in society - punks - is on paper pretty lacking in heart-string-pulling appeal. Whilst his exhibition - Good Rats - at the Hempel Hotel back in February was an excellent collection of intuitive, visceral, expressive photography, it was only with the explanation of the back-story – and his own experiences at the hands of the group - at a Q&A last week in Bethnal Green that the whole project really came alive for me.
O'Brien shot the photos for the exhibition over a three year period as he gradually went from an outsider with a camera whom the punks could take or leave to someone they actively wanted around (perhaps a bit too much sometimes) who listened, unobtrusively documented their story and even took one for the team when police caught them breaking in to an abandoned mental hospital.
I got the impression that O'Brien clearly didn't know what he was getting into when he started trying to establish a relationship with these kids. Perhaps getting involved with such an unpredictable, unstable group of needy teens without expecting consequences was a little naive but naivety often borders on brave. He says the initial idea was to take a group of kids - any group - with a strong identity and lift them outside of their comfort zone to watch them interact. Which he did. And I suspect at the same time the experience had exactly the same effect on him, although for this we don't have the photographic evidence.
From this project we learn that these kids (all around 15/16 years old) come from middle class families, their mums pay their phone bills, their parents are pretty normal. They like to destroy things, they drink, take drugs, their German punk associates will take a dancefloor full of Eurotrash over a traditional punk band and you won’t find many girl punks. Throughout the series of photos they make mistakes, they lose the plot and like rats they make the rest of society uncomfortable just by being there but they're basically underestimated or misunderstood - good rats at heart.
There's no mention of fascism or the kind of right wing mentality that can accompany a punk philosophy but there's plenty of nihilism. In such a quantity and so well portrayed that for the first time I really understood what being a punk means. They just completely ignore society’s rules and traditions and through O'Brien’s photos you can see the freedom of that as well as the isolation.
O'Brien shot the photos for the exhibition over a three year period as he gradually went from an outsider with a camera whom the punks could take or leave to someone they actively wanted around (perhaps a bit too much sometimes) who listened, unobtrusively documented their story and even took one for the team when police caught them breaking in to an abandoned mental hospital.
I got the impression that O'Brien clearly didn't know what he was getting into when he started trying to establish a relationship with these kids. Perhaps getting involved with such an unpredictable, unstable group of needy teens without expecting consequences was a little naive but naivety often borders on brave. He says the initial idea was to take a group of kids - any group - with a strong identity and lift them outside of their comfort zone to watch them interact. Which he did. And I suspect at the same time the experience had exactly the same effect on him, although for this we don't have the photographic evidence.
From this project we learn that these kids (all around 15/16 years old) come from middle class families, their mums pay their phone bills, their parents are pretty normal. They like to destroy things, they drink, take drugs, their German punk associates will take a dancefloor full of Eurotrash over a traditional punk band and you won’t find many girl punks. Throughout the series of photos they make mistakes, they lose the plot and like rats they make the rest of society uncomfortable just by being there but they're basically underestimated or misunderstood - good rats at heart.
There's no mention of fascism or the kind of right wing mentality that can accompany a punk philosophy but there's plenty of nihilism. In such a quantity and so well portrayed that for the first time I really understood what being a punk means. They just completely ignore society’s rules and traditions and through O'Brien’s photos you can see the freedom of that as well as the isolation.
I was unexpectedly touched by O'Brien's recounting of experiences with these kids who at heart just seemed to be struggling with the same crisis of self that everyone hits in their teens. I admired their bravery in wholeheartedly taking on such a visibly extreme philosophy and challenging society to put them in a box and dismiss them at its peril. And I feared for the consequences of the extreme behaviour and refusal to acknowledge a future and the preparation that requires. Most of all I felt something like understanding and fondness for the group who I’ve never met and who I would certainly move away from if they started pissing on the floor of a train near me as was recounted in one of the stories at the Q&A. And in getting me to feel that fondness – something I didn’t want or expect - I think O’Brien proved himself an intuitive and exciting talent.
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