Eamonn Doyle (°1969)
lives and works in Dublin and his native city keeps on providing him with a wealth of photographic
subjects.
Most of the images of his series ON (2015) were taken not far from his doorstep, in the multi-cultural and working-
class area around North Dublin’s Parnell Street and O’Connell Street. This collection of black-and-white
street photos takes the viewer on an intense journey of the ever-changing and repeating rhythm of the city.
The series perfectly translates the vibrant, edgy and at times grim atmosphere of the neighbourhood. Doyle
photographs the area and its inhabitants in a powerful manner, often from dramatic angles; frontally, from up
close or with a low-angled camera, making faces, buildings and skies looming large and ominous over the
camera. These viewpoints, along with the strong contrasts and the play with textures and volumes that
Doyle finds in Dublin’s urban fabric, all contribute to the series’ dynamic and sensory drama.
The people Doyle photographs are determinedly heading towards an unknown location and pass hastily in
front of his lens. Unlike Jacques Sonck’s posed street portraits on view in FIFTY ONE TOO, Doyle’s subjects
seem oblivious and inaccessible, both to their fellow street inhabitants, as to the photographer in front of
them trying to catch a glimpse. At times, a snapshot into their lives is granted - some stare challengingly or
with distrust into the camera, others seem aggressive or lonely even - but a real insight into their lives
remains absent. The subjects are stripped from all social, contextual and biographical cues. They remain
anonymous, abstract characters, often reduced to mere graphic elements. Movement, the urban context in
the background and the play with light, shapes and shadows, are equally important as the human
psychology.
In his latest series ONE (2021), Doyle further proves that he is a master of suspense. In this collection of
large format gelatine silver contact prints the atmosphere is even more alienating and menacing, pulling the
viewer in the dark overlooked corners of a city in the midst of a pandemic. Passers-by are blurred or
reduced to silhouettes. The frequent use of close-ups, strong contrasts and graininess, as well as the
attention to typography and surfaces, are sometimes reminiscent to the boldness of artists as William Klein
and Daido Moriyama. Just like the work of these legendary street photographers, ONE breaths both poetry
as raw energy and adds a touch of mystery to the ordinary aspects of city life.
