Not currently on display at the V&A

Five People Thinking the Same Thing V

Photograph
1999 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Frances Kearney graduated from the Photography MA course at the Royal College of Art in 1998. The three photographs in the V&A collection were all exhibited in her final degree show and acquired at that time. They are part of a larger body of work, titled 'Five People Thinking the Same Thing'. Kearney's work is concerned with the passing of time within a domestic setting, often with the subjects absorbed in what Kearney has described as "lost time".


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleFive People Thinking the Same Thing V (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
c-type print mounted on aluminium
Brief description
Kearney, Frances. Five People Thinking the Same Thing V (man with jug kneeling beside fireplace), 1998
Physical description
Man kneeling at a domestic fireplace with a plastic jug in his hand. He appears to have extinguished a fire. Like the other images in the set, he has his back towards the camera. He kneels on a patterned rug. He is wearing red trousers, a blue shirt and brown boots. Book cases flank the fireplace.
Dimensions
  • Print height: 122.5cm
  • Print width: 153.9cm
Gallery label
Label for 'Making It Up: Photographic Fictions' (3 May 2013 - 12 January 2014): Frances Kearney (born 1970) Five People Thinking the Same Thing II, III and V 1998 Kearney’s images seem to be spontaneous snapshots but they are meticulously staged. Clothes, expressions and posture are all contrived for the photograph, and scenes are re-worked until a sense of stillness is achieved. Kearney’s figures convey a monumental and meditative quality, absorbed in what she has described as ‘lost time’. They are caught at a moment of personal reflection, perhaps waiting for something to happen. C-type prints Museum nos. E.496 to 498-1998
Object history
These photographs are part of a larger body of work, titled Five People Thinking the Same Thing but only these images were exhibited at the summer degree show.
Historical context
Frances Kearney graduated from the Photography MA course at the Royal College of Art. These three photographs were all exhibited in her final degree show in the Summer of 1998. Kearney creates a subtle narrative, focussing on the representation of human thought and emotion, that relates well to the photography by Lady Hawarden. Her work is concerned with the passing of time within a domestic setting, often with the subjects absorbed in what Kearney has described as "lost time".
Production
Reason For Production: Exhibition
Subjects depicted
Summary
Frances Kearney graduated from the Photography MA course at the Royal College of Art in 1998. The three photographs in the V&A collection were all exhibited in her final degree show and acquired at that time. They are part of a larger body of work, titled 'Five People Thinking the Same Thing'. Kearney's work is concerned with the passing of time within a domestic setting, often with the subjects absorbed in what Kearney has described as "lost time".
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
E.497-1998

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Record createdSeptember 3, 2003
Record URL
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