Ross McDonnell - Joyrider photobook talk & launch

Thursday 21st October 7.00pm

As part of our programme for Prix Pictet: Hope, Gallery of Photography Ireland is delighted to announce the launch of Joyrider, a new publication by photographer Ross McDonnell.

Ross will be present to introduce his Joyrider project and will be available to sign copies of his book and limited edition prints at this event.

About the Photobook

Set against the backdrop of the Ballymun housing estate in Dublin, Ireland, Joyrider is a coming of age story, documenting rites of passage on the ‘block,’ experiences that convert youthful abandon to criminal enterprise. Inspired by societal changes in his native Ireland, McDonnell spent several years working in the area as residents were being relocated in anticipation of the complex’s final demolition. 

Now published in its complete form for the first time, Joyrider depicts a marginalized youth reclaiming the space around them in the face of this urban regeneration. We see, writ large, the forces and tensions that shape us all as young individuals: creation and destruction, inclusion and escapism, environment and identity.

The book is a breathless ride. McDonnell, whose background is in film, marries his flair for the cinematic with a kinetic visual language to make Joyrider a participatory work. We accompany the characters through their transgressions, conquests, and their rituals, both boring and sublime. 

Joyrider is the October featured Book of the Month for the influential Charcoal Book Club.

Ross McDonnell is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker who has been shortlisted for the Prix Pictet: Hope, the world's largest award for photography and sustainability on show at Gallery of Photography Ireland until November 6th. McDonnell’s series Joyrider has previously appeared in The New York Times, Time Magazine, Fader, Vice Magazine, Joia, Mass Appeal & Esquire, among others. This is his first publication.

Joyrider by Ross McDonnell

Published by Thirty Nine Books, 2021, 112 pages, 61 images.

Hardback/Leather bound.

Edition size 1000

RRP €52 

ISBN: 978-1-5272-9166-9

About the Prix Pictet:
The Prix Pictet aims to harness the power of photography – all genres of photography – to draw global attention to issues of sustainability, especially those concerning the environment.

Founded in 2008 by the Pictet Group, the Prix Pictet has become the world’s leading award for photography and sustainability. To date, there have been eight cycles of the award each of which has highlighted a particular facet of sustainability. The nine themes are Water, Earth, Growth, Power, Consumption, Disorder, Space, Hope and Fire.

Entry to the award is strictly by nomination. The network of nominators worldwide (currently numbering 300) have, over the course of the eight cycles, nominated 4,700 artists for the award. Taken together the nominated works present a powerful testament to the fragile state of our planet.