REGARDING THE SPIRIT OF THE TIME!!

Sitting across a table from Marie Carroll in Paddington, Brisbane it all seemed so different from the last time we met on the south wall walk, just beside the Half moon swimming club in Dublin.
Both of us had in more ways than one travelled a long distance since that moonlit night.
Life in Dublin became unviable for Marie after the financial crash. She worked in I.T. recruitment and that business just shrank and disappeared right in front of her eyes. So she had to travel to work

CATCH UP 2

Its been a while, so before I launch myself into a new phase of posting I have something to put right.
Due to some confusion re release forms I was unable to publish this shot as it happened.
It was made last march outside the central bank of Ireland (a few weeks after the dis-assembly of the occupy Dame street protest)

RELATIVITY!

Yes! the internet makes the world a smaller and much more accessible place that's the truth.
Sure it's that concept which breathed life into my own blog, The Lilliputian, a photographic blog for the small world.
It's only when I stepped outside my hall door in Dublin and put one foot after the other that the scale of the world re-established itself in my head.
I have been away for over 8 weeks now and I have visited so many fantastic people in so many cities.
It took 23 hours to shoot us across the world to the Immigration Museum in Melbourne. Once arrived there Jet Lag and the hard work of winding up publicity to the opening of the "Leaving Dublin" exhibition immediatly took its toll and wiped out the first 12 days of the journey. (But what a 12 days!!)
It was only a week and a half into the trip that I started to wake up as I prepared to travel off to visit some of my sitters who had settled in Australia and New Zealand.

BIG THANKS LISA & ALL AT THE MUSEUM!!

I am sitting outside the Frisco hotel, on Dowling,in Woolloomooloo,Sydney Australia. Its 10.41.November 6th 2012

There,Thats me located in this moment.

So much has happened in the last 2weeks or so its mind blowing!

I have been to 3 radio stations,Talked to 4 more on the phone.here is one

 news of the work appeared in two national and on Victorian news papers.

I met with the Directors of the centre for contemporary photography(Melbourne)

And the Director of the Australian centre for photography(Sydney)

Two Fantastic people who were delighted to share their knowledge of  Australian systems with me. I am really looking forward to developing the  relationship with Australia that has been started with the Leaving Dublin exhibition at the Immigration Museum,Melbourne.

In Melbourne all was amazing!

As expected by the exacting yet fluid nature of communications from the Museum over the last 10 months,all at the museum flowed,nothing was left to chance,all works were completed and the exhibition was in place as per spec. on my arrival. Everthing looked so right nothing needed to be moved only one adjustment needed to be made to the biggest image,that of Aoife O'Donnell.

The graphics in the entrance corridor were sweet,the red wall at the end phenomenal.,the colour palate for text,wall,and furniture, all allowed the work to sing as it was intended,about the colourful characters who came from the colourful city Dublin.

The QR code was in place to take people here,the running order of the show,with links to each post as they appeared on the blog however many months before that might have been.

On the night of the opening I think I was just coming out of the jet lag zone,although it may have been that I was on an adrenaline buzz but it was all good.

the CEO of  Museum Victoria, Dr Patrick Greene,opened proceedings,and the museums Manager Padmini Sabastian spoke also and made it so easy for me to then speak off the cuff.

The most important thing I had to say on the night was a heartfelt thank you to all at the museum but in particular to Lisa Collins the person who silently pulled the whole thing together!
The work was also brought to life by the presence of two sitters Conor Savage and Elaine Bannon,they really felt the moment and no doubt

Frances Devlin Glass wrote a great review for Tinteán,and we met so many friends of friends at the opening who have relocated here.Simon Spain,Victoria Rhyle and their daughter Georgia,Terry Mahon ,J.P. Tansey and his beautiful wife Rebecca, Dawn Bennett,Meredith Chipperton,and the fantastic John Francis, journalist who put together the great video piece at the expo.

Diane and  Patrice of Credo communications made my life so stress free during the prelaunch publicity.

All is going so well on this trip and already I have made new work on film with Trish and Stephen and Lynn all in glorious monochrome.

Time has moved on!

Its Late in the evening now and I am holed up in the blue mountains outside Sydney in a couple of days i will be in Perth to follow up on more of my sitters.As I travel I will keep posting images to fb and tumblr  so keep an eye out as they say and know that this project has started to roll with big thanks to the photoireland festival and the Immigration museum melbourne!!

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SEARCHLIGHT-SPOTLIGHT

When I first started my blog The Lilliputian I knew who I was.
A little guy talking to the big world.
This truth holds,but now it would seem the word has got out.
The world was and is listening.This has made the world for me smaller,my sized!!
It is eager for visuals and stories it wants to share in emotions,emotions displayed by all of the sitters
in my Leaving Dublin project for example.

ALTERED STATES!

A couple of weeks ago I had an email from fellow photographer Ciara O'Halloran. She said she was leaving, and she would like to sit for me!
Of the  hundred plus people I have worked with on this project Ciara was my tenth photographer!
It is for me a resounding call of validation for my work when another of my number pays me the compliment of sitting with me before they leave  home for a new land.

Crackin' up!

It was great to meet last week with Paul Moloney a Dublin bar manager who was striking out to take on the world and do his level best to make a life for himself in Perth Australia.

Paul has secured sponsorship in Australia and so he is away to manage a bar and by now he is well into  his second week at work there.

I met Paul on Harry Street Dublin outside the famous Bruxelles pub and club where he fancied posing with one of Ireland's rock legends and larger than life personalities Philip Lynott.

Its hard to believe that Phil passed away over 25 years ago during the middle of our last big wave of emigration, around about the time that I lost all of my siblings to London.

Paul, a very happy and vibrant man told me after the shoot of his family and their connections to Australia through family members who had moved down through the years.

He was optimistic for his future and delighted for the opportunities which lay ahead but he did add,

"I have much love for this country, this city and my own home town. It's a place I would love to be able to excel in and ply my trade at a level I want to, with success....But......sadly.... IT AIN'T POSSIBLE."

We wish Paul the best and remember one of Phil's insightful lyrics of memory and loss

Iv'e been spending my time in the old town,

I sure miss you honey since your not around,

since your not around this old town.

I really look forward to catching up with Paul when I visit Perth in early November, by then hopefully he will be feeling at home!!

Both Ray and Artur were at hand to look after the technical stuff and as always all went smoothly with their guidance.