Photographic Gallery: Niall O'Brien, Art Work Space | reviews, news & interviews
Photographic Gallery: Niall O'Brien, Art Work Space
Photographic Gallery: Niall O'Brien, Art Work Space
Good Rats: the faces of modern punk go on show
Monday, 01 February 2010
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/1b56d005723ad175e526bbe57567b8ab.jpg?itok=nQYMmfbI)
'Xavier', from Niall O'Brien's 'Good Rats' exhibition
Purists would have it that punk rock was but a brief explosion in first New York then London, and was all but spent by the end of 1977. Irish photographer Niall O'Brien, however, was born in 1979 and has no truck with purism. Instead, taking the role of anthropologist for his exhibition Good Rats, he has befriended and spent time with groups of young punks, from skaters in Kingston-upon-Thames to homeless teens in Berlin and Tel Aviv, and documented the noise, chaos and sense of belonging that comes with the subculture more than three decades on from its inception. Click on the images below to view his work.
Purists would have it that punk rock was but a brief explosion in first New York then London, and was all but spent by the end of 1977. Irish photographer Niall O'Brien, however, was born in 1979 and has no truck with purism. Instead, taking the role of anthropologist for his exhibition Good Rats, he has befriended and spent time with groups of young punks, from skaters in Kingston-upon-Thames to homeless teens in Berlin and Tel Aviv, and documented the noise, chaos and sense of belonging that comes with the subculture more than three decades on from its inception. Click on the images below to view his work.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Visual arts
![](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Screenshot%202024-10-30%20at%2017-39-09%20theartsdesk.com%20%28%40the_arts_desk%29%20%E2%80%A2%20Instagram%20photos%20and%20videos.png?itok=W02US5i5)
!['Untitled (No Comment)' 2020 by Barbara Kruger](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Kruger%20cat%202_0.jpg?itok=yeMkISnK)
![AARON #1 Drawing, 1979 by Harold Cohen. Tate, Purchased 2015](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Electric%20Dreams%20Harold%20Cohen%2C%20AARON%20%231%20Drawing%2C%201979.%20Tate.%20Purchased%202015.%20%C2%A9%20Harold%20Cohen.%20Photo%20courtesy%20of%20Harold%20Cohen%20Trust.jpg?itok=wxIVqYGb)
![Laurie Anderson serenades the rockets taking off into the stratosphere](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Ark%20%20clouds%20%28CREDIT%20DUNCAN%20ELLIOT%29.jpg?itok=IceB0-fQ)
![Corpo Coletivo (collective body) 1974 by Lygia Clark. Paço Imperial, Rio de Janeiro, 1986.](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Lygia%20Clark%20%20Corpo%20Coletivo%20%28colective%20body%29%201974.jpg?itok=FHh-bQyz)
![Ahh...Youth!, 1991 by Mike Kelley](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Mike%20Kelley%2C%20Ahh...Youth%21%201991.jpg?itok=MwzWjYgA)
![Waterloo Bridge, Overcast, 1903 by Claude Monet, oil on canvas](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Claude%20Monet%20%281840-1926%29%2C%20Waterloo%20Bridge%2C%20Overcast%2C%201903%2C%20oil%20on%20canvas%2C%20Ordrupgaard%2C%20Denmark.%20Photo%20Anders%20Sune%20Berg%20.jpg?itok=ntnY_MUy)
![Common History: Conference, 1999 by Michael Craig-Martin. Acrylic on aluminium, 274.3 x 508 cm.](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Craig-Martin%20office.jpg?itok=tFfDg8dK)
![Olive trees with the Alpilles in the Background, 1889 by Vincent Van Gogh](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Van%20Gogh%20olive%20trees.jpg?itok=XHImVKMa)
!['Thatcher Unmasked', 1986 by Peter Kennard](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Peter%20Kennard_Thatcher%20Unmasked_1986.jpg?itok=5l9AxAqi)
!['Ineligible for Death', 2024 by Dominique White, Max Mara Art Prize for Women 2022-24](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/mastimages/Dominique%20White_ineligible%20for%20death_2024.jpg?itok=Or8wdFI-)
Add comment