My work reflects the concept that photography’s strength lies in its ability to elevate the mundane to a level of significance and importance.  The inherent nature of the medium to capture reflections of the real world gives me the ability to examine this banality of everyday life. Whether it is an abstract image or a straight document, I point my camera to record the human experience with a sense of irony of the ordinary. In Plato’s allegory of the cave, the Greek philosopher presented the notion that shadows cast on the wall from the cave’s entrance could be perceived as our true reality. My objective is to document what is beyond these shadows and present not a new reality, but generate a fresh interpretation into life’s daily moments and our shared existence.

The subject matter of my work is very personal, primarily focusing on the social or topographical environment around me.  My images are rooted in the triviality of everyday life or the common scenes that people disregard.  Through the use of scale, chance, humor, mystery, and form, my images are intended for a mass audience due to this familiar subject matter.  My concentration is on what seems unimportant but actually is the fabric that plays a pivotal role in the daily aspect of everyone’s life.  The viewer should question his or her own participation with each piece, and be struck with a new interpretation of a seemingly commonplace facet of life.  Through this awkward familiarity a new sensibility is created that questions both my own and the viewer’s definition of art, and our connection with daily places and objects.

My overall body of work is presented in various series, but central themes remain the same.  Over the past decade I have photographed various subject matter including abstract food images, portraits, night photographs, and street photography.  While on initial inspection this may seem to be a varied body of work, it is all interconnected to the fabric of daily life.  These are the people we see on the street each day, the meals that are put in front of us to ingest, the cityscapes we glance at out of the corner of our eyes, or the amusing juxtapositions of individuals with their environments.

The influence for my “Digestive Complexities” series is rooted in the Abstract Expressionism movement in painting from the 1940’s and 1950’s in America.  These photographs have a painter-like quality and examine our relationship with the items we consume on a daily basis.  The basic sustenance of life, food is deeply entwined in all cultures and people.  The images explore various aspects of food and its importance in traditions, religious concerns, politics, consumerism, and lifestyle choices, While on initial inspection some of the subject matter may seem revolting, an interesting dichotomy presents itself in the beauty of color, texture and form.

My series of portraits taken in Central and South America are part of an on-going series entitled “Moments of Space.”  Each photograph documents an instant when subject and photographer share a brief bond, with the result becoming an artifact, or image.  A fascination has grown out this seemingly random encounter.  My life began in the small agricultural community of Kinvara, Ireland.  The photograph documents both my own and my subject’s life journey as the two become intertwined for a brief instant.  Every seemingly meaningless decision has gotten us to this moment with the photograph becoming an authentication to our existence together.  Distance, age, space, and geography have no relevance in this equation; only free will and choice define each image.

My “Dark Contemplations” and “Wanderings” series deal with the idea of the glance versus the gaze.  How we digest information in our everyday settings is in direct contrast to how we view information in a still photograph.  The images are locations that usually go unnoticed, are generally viewed through one’s peripheral vision, or are seen merely at a glance.  By studying an environment over a prolonged period, and slicing off a moment of time, I present the viewer with an ordinary scene and the chance for thoughtful examination, or the gaze.