Boru O’Brien O’Connell

Photographs by Boru O’Brien O’Connell. Memories of a faded time, and portraits of ordinary men so sentimental they feel taboo. From an interview with We Can’t Paint:

I like to photograph a somewhat ignored and even bland demographic; as a reflection of the medium’s history, as a reflection of the culture’s visual choices, and as a reflection of what I’m interested in. I like to imbue humor into photography, albeit sometimes in a very subtle manner, I think that is important. This is not to say that there isn’t an abundance of social and artistic criticism, or even humor, surrounding this same demographic I shoot, but for me masculinity lends itself to something less obvious than what I’ve seen; a silliness, a strangeness, but all this lies just under a layer of how serious or straight it wants to be taken.

I think there is a lot that is just assumed about male identity, especially given the stereotypical reticence of straight men. But this trait provides a wealth of material and questioning, unopened doors of weirdness. Maybe there’s still a fear of some kind regarding straight, platonic male relationships, but I see a lot to be gleaned from that pursuit, both in undermining its exterior, and maybe relating a bizarre anecdote.