OVER Journal Issue 1

OVER journal is a new periodical publication and online platform that proposes its readers a more wholesome, honest, and critical observation and enjoyment of Photography. Publishing commissioned texts and artworks alongside interviews and opinion pieces, it aims to create the ideal channel for an open and global discussion about the context in which the discipline sits, as well as about the output of artists, exhibiting venues, and publishing houses.

OVER journal critically focuses on aspects often overlooked that affect the discipline, zooming out to observe the whole scene, to analyse what exactly is happening, what power relationships are at play. It is about preventing the repetition of obsolete and flawed structures, as much as highlighting the work of those who constructively are expanding what we still call Photography into new horizons. More than a portfolio magazine, it is a space for reflection on new practices, new ways of thinking, shining a light wherever needed.

Contributors
The publication, a project by PhotoIreland developed as part of the Critical Academy,  presents works by artists and writers that contribute to a better understanding of the present challenges, and the future opportunities of both the medium and the world we live in. Contributors include Aidan Kelly-Murphy, Alison Nordstrom, Amelie Schüle, Ángel Luis González, Anna Ehrenstein, Becks Butler, Benedetta Casagrande, David Farrell, Duncan Wooldridge, Erik Vroons, Eva Kreuger, Francesca Catastini, Garry Loughlin, Gloria Oyarzabal, Guerrilla Girls, Heather Agyepong, Hiro Tanaka, Jorg Colberg, Julia Gelezova, Marion Hislen, Mark McGuinness, Natasha Christia, Shia Conlon, Teresa Eng, Theo Ellison, Yining He, Vera Ryklova, and Yvette Monahan.

With Visual Culture and Critical Thinking at the core

Our interest in energising a critical engagement with Photography and Visual Culture, Cultural Studies, and Critical Thinking —to collectively question the world we persistently represent to ourselves— motivated PhotoIreland since 2009 to develop a variety of short and long-term projects. Our work has manifested in a yearly Photography festival, a public resource photobook library, an Art bookshop, various publishing ventures, a print fair, Art residencies such as How to Flatten a Mountain, and a space for critical research called the Critical Academy. Adding to these, since 2015 we have gained valuable experience participating in various European Union co-funded projects. It is then not by chance that OVER journal comes into being this year.

It all started with a long and deep reflection on our experience over the last decade as a cultural organisation working in Ireland and abroad, founded initially by a Photography graduate to support the discipline. Running a wealth of projects since then, and discussing our experience with peers internationally, we found along the way many cases of questionable practices; these oftentimes reinforced existing power relations, nepotism, favouritism, poor governance, as much as a lack of curatorial renewal, transparency, and a proper evolution of the practice. It became apparent that there is an urgency to speak openly about these issues, and that a platform where these discussions could be held publicly is certainly important and necessary.

Our aim is to acknowledge contemporary challenges critically, constructively, and to seek a healthier ecosystem that can support with an honest mindset what current practitioners are bringing into play.

OVER Journal was made possible with the contribution of these wonderful people: Aidan Gageler, Ailbe Collins, Aisling Keavey, Alan Phelan, Andrés Pardo Rodriguez, Andreas Oetker-Kast, Anne Mullee, Aoife Shanahan, Arman Duzel, Becky Warnock, Ben Hutchinson, Bianca Fatu, Caitriona Dunnett, Clare Lymer, Clare Lyons, Clodagh Moreland, Conner Dorbin, Conor Nolan, Dara McGrath, David Kronn, David Thomas Smith, Dianna Wojciechowska, Donall Curtin, Duncan Wooldridge, Eamonn Doyle, Edward Dunne, Elise Fisher, Ellie Berry, Frank Brennan, Garrett Hayes, George Voronov, Harry Rose, Jacqui Kiely, James Cockroft, Jane Cummins, Jennifer Ricketts, John Collins, John O'Toole, Kate Nolan, Keith Shuaib, Lara Ciarabellini, Laurel Bradley, Laurence Gorman, Letizia Lopreiato, Malcolm McGettigan, Mark Kavanagh, Mark Tracy, Michael Lee, Miriam O'Connor, Mo White, Moritz Neumüller, Niamh Smith, Olga McGeough, Mandy O'Neill, Orla Fitzpatrick, Paula Nolan, Raphael Schumacher, Rodrigo Orrantia, Róisín White, Ruby Wallis, Sarah Shaw, Seán Laoide-Kemp, Sebastian Farron-Mahon, Shane Lynam, Shannon Guerrico, Sharon Murphy, Sheaneen Healy Byrne, Simon Worthington, Ste Murray, Therese Barry, Thomas Bregulla, Thomas Licek, Tommie Lehane, Yvette Monahan, and Zoe Hamill.

Published by PhotoIreland
160 pages
184 × 245 mm
Softcover
ISBN 9781916140417