Michael McIlvaney’s Subordinate: So Near/So Alone
Predator © Michael McIlvaney
One of the definitions of the word “subordinate” is “a person under the authority or control of another within an organization.” Michael McIlvaney’s series Subordinate posits questions of authority and image in the public sphere. It would seem that our tendency to check our appearance constantly on reflective surfaces speaks to a deeply rooted anxiety and a primal vulnerability of our species: caring how others in our community perceive us.
From the shadows © Michael McIlvaney
McIlvaney explores how the desire to be our own image makers manifests in human behavior and interaction in the streets of Birmingham, England. Also, he makes visible the photographer’s participation (as documentarian, witness, narrator, facilitator, etc.). Our relationship to the public sphere has changed, and it highlights how our relationship to each other has changed. McIlvaney elucidates how we’ve become reclusive—avoiding small talk, taking up the vacant bench at the park, a quick touch up before entering another space.
Physical interactions have become minutiae and, for some, an obligatory chore. Just a couple decades ago, people went out in order to make connections with others, but, since the emergence of mobile devices and the internet, it would seem that socialization in the public sphere has moved to a virtual setting. So, it should come as no surprise that, in some of the pictures, the subject[s] are in a quiet bubble on their phones.
Danger © Michael McIlvaney
McIlvaney’s photographs capture quiet moments, moments shared between the private self and the self one publicizes. In the picture captioned “Spied,” the subject is in a black jacket which blends into the black wall he hides behind, seemingly wary of being seen. In the picture captioned “Watched,” the subject hurriedly makes her way down the block. She moves toward whatever affair awaits her, unaware that she is being watched. The title speaks to a subjugation to the photographer’s representation. In the picture captioned “Danger,” the subject, who is unaware that they are being photographed, is on their phone standing against a wall. The sign cautioning others of danger speaks to the trappings of social media and our mobile devices.
Subject © Michael McIlvaney
McIlvaney studied politics and sociology at the University of Durham. His series Subordinate is a subplot to another series of his entitled Preyed. Want to view more of McIlvaney’s work? Click here.
