In my project “A small study of Ireland’s artists” I want to photograph a group of artists in their own environment, documenting how they work and live in their day to day lives. In doing so I hope to celebrate their art and also maybe get a glimpse into finding out where they get their inspiration and drive from. One such person who is a part of my project is Joe Hogan, an artist in Galway.
Here is a little bit about my meeting with Joe.
www.joehoganbaskets.com
I went to Galway in Ireland in March 2020 to photograph the landscape and people. One such person was Joe Hogan an artist who lived there. I had heard about him from a friend and really wanted to meet him. I left my hostel in the morning with two students from California. I told them of my quest to meet Joe the previous night and they were excited to join me in my hunt to find him and see sights along the way. I had not contacted him beforehand. We searched around the lake for an hour looking for Joe’s studio but there were no signs for it. We saw some locals near the lake and asked them could they point us in the direction of Joe's place. One of them told us we would not find him at home as they had seen him out cutting willow branches in a field. Soon after we found a man hacking away at branches in a boggy wet field in the rain. We trekked through the field towards him, careful not to lose our trainers in the mud and were met with a great warm welcome. "Well, you must be looking for me!" We felt right at home as he enthusiastically talked to us. But it was still a surprise when he gave us the keys and directions to his house where we could make ourselves welcome and get warm. Later he followed us and served up homemade brown bread, butter and tea. I asked if it was ok to take pictures and he gladly obliged.
