Eileen at 95
Fine Art Portrait Series
Eileen at 95 builds on the “composite portrait” concept from Joseph’s series Emily, A Self Portrait. This project endeavors to construct an image of Joseph’s grandmother, Eileen O’Malley, for her 95th birthday in July 2022. Though Eileen passed in 2006, all 14 of her children live on, and Eileen at 95 shows her now through portraits of them.
Each of the subject’s entries in the piece are presented as a triptych of high contrast black & white images. The photographs are meant to blend stylistic elements of 20th century black & white family photos with Joseph’s more sharp, modern aesthetics. The high key lighting helps to illuminate the unique details in the subjects’ features, while also creating heavy shadows to draw attention to the similar shapes and forms across all of the siblings’ faces. Moreover, the triptych structure is intended to capture a range of emotions felt during the production to give viewers deeper insights into both their individual personalities, as well as their shared mannerisms.
All of the images from the project can be seen below, in order from oldest to youngest: John Francis Xavier O'Malley (born 1949), Eileen Mary Lourdes O'Malley Gottlieb (born 1950), Patric Joseph O'Malley (born 1952), Clare O'Malley Grizzard (born 1953), Therese O'Malley (born 1953), Joseph Sylvester O'Malley (born 1955), Maura Grabriel O'Malley Szendiuch (born 1956), Michael Thomas Peter O'Malley (Joseph’s father, born 1957), Bryan Aidan O'Malley (born 1959), Brendan Francis O'Malley (born 1960), James Philip Athanasius O'Malley (born 1961), Miriam Paula O'Malley (born 1965), Neil Gerard O'Malley (born 1966), and Colm Francis O'Malley (born 1969).
Click on any image in the gallery to enlarge.
