Steve Ryan Photography

Exhibition: Werkstadt-Berlin

steveryanphotography — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:26:36 +0000

My exhibition, Catholic Ireland, opens this Friday 27th January in Werkstad-Berlin gallery in Neukölln, Berlin. The show will run for 4 weeks.

Artist Statement:

Title of Series: Catholic Ireland

Artist: Steve Ryan

Years of Creation: 2010 – 2011

Religious statues and grottos are commonly found in housing estates, schools, crossroads, churches, railway crossings and town squares throughout Ireland. Many were erected in the Marian year of 1954 as a celebration of Mary and to protect an area and bless the people around them.

They are also a place for local communities to gather and pray the rosary together. Since 1954, their popularity has decreased, with the brief exception of July 1985 when the statue of Mary in Ballinspittle in Co. Cork was reported to have spontaneously moved.

The second Marian year in 1987 was less popular.

Although a small number of people still tend to the upkeep of these religious sites, the landscape of Ireland has evolved and greatly changed around them.

Over the last two years I have been travelling the country exploring the present relationship between these statues and their surroundings. This series of ten images is a selection of work from this ongoing project.

The project was shot on a Mamiya 7, 6×7 medium format film camera and the 20 photographs are printed 8×6 inches on Photo Rag Baryta 315 paper at RightBrain fine art printing, Co. Cork and framed by Hang Tough Framing in Dublin.

A section of the project can be seen on my website: http://steveryanphotography.com/category/projects/book1/

Marshall Amplifiers: Craft & Pride

steveryanphotography — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:30:16 +0000

One or the four Craft & Pride videos for this years Movember creative. Special thanks for Charlie Doran for editing and Parhelia for the loan of the music. Three more to come.

Niki & the Dove

steveryanphotography — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:12:14 +0000

I was a small piece of the puzzle for Niki & the Dove’s album Artwork, but a piece non the less. I photographed the tiger mask.

Barry’s Tea Community Box

steveryanphotography — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 11:24:31 +0000

This is Barry’s Tea community box 2011, featuring my portraits of Barry’s Tea drinkers shopping in Super Valus all over Ireland.

Barry’s Tea road trip

steveryanphotography — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:42:06 +0000

In one wet week of June just past I managed to clock up over 2,500km on an Irish road trip. I visited close to 25 Super Valu’s around the country and photographed Barry’s Tea shoppers for a special edition community box that will be launch nationwide this September. It was a great way to see Ireland and meet a lot of nice people.

Thinkhouse meeting room

steveryanphotography — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:56:10 +0000

Thinkhouse, who sit amongst my longest and favorite clients (don’t tell the others) have just decorated their meeting room with one of my photographs. I’m chuffed.

Vodafone: Creativity in Black & White

steveryanphotography — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:36:23 +0000

This is an interview from a recent shoot I did for Vodafone where I had 120 minutes to make a Black & White image based around their promotion of the new range of Blackberry’s and the 120 free minutes that come with them.

PhotoIreland Festival Dublin & Belfast Photo Festival

steveryanphotography — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:37:54 +0000

My new book Raw Materials is part of collection on view in Filmbase, Dublin as part of PhotoIreland Festival. Next week it will on display in Belfast as part of the Belfast Photo Festival. If you’re nearby pop in and take a look.

You can view the book online here: http://www.blurb.com/books/2239731

For details on the other books on show follow this link:

http://2011.photoireland.org/program/open-call-2011/

Central YMCA, London – Summer Campaign

steveryanphotography — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:43:14 +0000

The YMCA was established in 1844 in central London. Unfortunately the original building was destroyed during the Blitz but today on it’s foundations is the Central YMCA community gym with over 6,000 members of which I am one.

For the Summer advertising campaign I photographed a cross section of the membership, from the creche to seniors clubs. It was a fun project. The images will be displayed in the windows, on the web and in the London Underground stations in central London.

Here is a selection of the 25 portraits that were made.

Let Them Eat Cake – Cuba

steveryanphotography — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:15:42 +0000

Recently in Cuba with fashion writer, Sally Miura, we were amazed at the fashion culture that exists in a country were foreign media is forbidden. This project has just been published in London based fashion magazine Let them Eat Cake .

These photos were taken along the Malecón which is 8km of esplanade in Cuba’s capital Havana. This walkway is a huge hangout for local youths and Florida gazers. During the day it’s a lounge while at night it offers a cheap substitute to a bar with young people dotted all along the wall with rum and salsa.