Spencer Glover

Griffith College Dublin

Project Statement:

The Chosen People

My great-grandfather was an odd man by all accounts. He was my granny’s father. He fought in the Boer War, and was a docker on Dublin's North Wall. He didn't drink, nor smoke, nor curse - which must have been strange behaviour, if not for a soldier, then certainly for an Irish docker. He had his hobbies. He mended watches; he was interested in megalithic history; he had learned needlecrafts in the army. He was also an amateur photographer.

As a docker and union man, he was one of the first groups out on strike during the Dublin Lockout. On the 31st of August 1913, he took part in the workers rally on Sackville Street (what we now call O’Connell Street). The Dublin Metropolitan Police baton charged the protesters. He had brought his camera (on its wooden tripod) to take a picture of Big Jim Larkin, who though banned, was speaking at the event. When the police attacked, he attempted to protect his camera, and had his arm broken by the baton. His camera remained intact. My father now has it.

These are simply facts.

In 1923, he was the first of our family ever to buy a house - 12 Crescent Gardens, East Wall - handy for a docker. And up until last April, when an old relative died, someone from our family had lived continuously in that house. So, after nearly 100 years, when it came time for us to clear the rooms, the attic, his shed - we found a box - 3 boxes actually. An archive of glass plate negatives, untouched for 100 years.

Meticulously logged, these glass plate negatives are not just the history of a man, but also of other men. Chosen men.

It seems he was part of a camera club. He went on day trips, by train and bicycle, around Dublin, Kildare, and Meath to document old Celtic tombs - our ancient people. His old maps were with the slides of the areas. The Dublin map records a trip to Tara in 1900. His negatives show people digging.

So, as a photographer, I engaged with this family archive - my people. I began to tackle the questions of how is the past remembered? How is the past represented in the present? A re-examination of the places he had been.

And then we found a letter.

– Spencer Glover

Artist Bio:

Spencer's work is about photography itself - why we believe the camera never lies and the vernacular expectations within that. All his images are constructed truths, looking at the boundaries of photographic reality. Although a lot of the work is constructed, and arguably fake, it exists in the real world and in real time - with real people and things, in real places, doing real and often ordinary things, but maybe in places we might not expect. This contradiction of what's real and not real, creates an uncertainty that should disconcert the viewer. The aim is to play with the assumptions of fact, fiction and fake, giving him the opportunity to weave in issues such as identity, race, nationality, and control.

Born and now back living in Dublin, Ireland, he has lived in the UK, Italy, the US, and Middle East. Spencer had a career as a publisher before returning to his art practice. He has a Fine Art degree and post-grad qualification from NCAD in Dublin. He has recently completed a photography specific degree in Griffith College.

His prints are strict limited editions - with only 12 copies of each photograph made. His work is held in public and private collections in Ireland, the UK and Europe.