While my practice hasn't led me to football in the past, I have always been interested in documenting my experiences throughout life whether they relate to my concept driven practice or not. In the past this has often been live music and events, and now football parades. I moved to north London two and half years ago and have followed Arsenal avidly since. The passion around Arsenal is infectious in the area I was living in - it's rare to walk for 2 minutes without seeing someone rep Arsenal through some kind of merchandise. There was no way that I was going to miss the parade (I actually cancelled a trip to France to be there for it!), and there was no way that I was going to attend without a camera.
Did you feel like an outsider documenting football culture, or did the atmosphere draw you in?
The energy and sheer volume of the parade could definitely be intimidating to someone unfamiliar with football culture, particularly someone who isn't an Arsenal fan. I've been involved in this type of atmosphere for the past two years, on a much smaller scale to the parade but the energy is similar. Whether that be from attending games at The Emirates or watching from local pubs, it was a small insight into what the parade might have looked like. The cheering, the singing, the chanting and the togetherness of everyone in attendance. I do struggle to imagine being amongst that without sharing the passion to sing and chant alongside everyone. I believe that sharing this passion would have helped put those who I was photographing at ease. It can be intimidating for people to notice a camera pointed directly at them, but when they see me cheering and singing along with them while photographing, they would realise that we're actually there for the same reason, I just also happen to have a camera with me. Photographing other fans often ended up in either a fist pump, a joyous embrace, and sometimes a nice conversation. I guess this is a convoluted way of saying that I didn't feel like an outsider documenting this, but had it been any other team's celebrations I would absolutely have felt like an outsider.
What did the experience teach you about the relationship between football, people and art/photography?
The experience taught me how a shared passion has the power to bring a diverse group of strangers together on such an extreme scale. This same thing does of course happen at other events such as music festivals, but the level of camaraderie and togetherness at the parade was like nothing else. I do believe that having a camera helped to strengthen this connection to other fans, as they would ask to exchange Instagram or contact details so they could see the photos and so I could send them their portraits. Everyone in attendance was brought together by football, but photography definitely became another layer in the foundation of connection and relationship building that I experienced.
Introducing fieldwork community member Cody O’Brien.
Cody O'Brien explores themes of identity, belonging and home through his photographic practice. Currently based in Naarm / Melbourne, he has documented communities, lifestyles and events around the world with a considered approach, prioritising authenticity and compassion in his work.
Fieldwork asked Cody to share a selection of his work from Arsenal’s trophy Parade in North London earlier this year (in which he canceled a trip to Paris for), and to talk about his experience living and working in London, and the infectious passion that surrounds the club and community.
Portrait by: @zinofeed
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