PADDY

By Adam Docker

‘ I met Paddy on the outskirts of Dublin, in a backstreet estate where we were filming inside a local gym. He appeared out of nowhere, circling us. His presence was really unsettling. He looked menacing, suspicious of who we were and why we had turned up with cameras. As we loaded our equipment into the gym he followed us at a distance, his eyes locked, his jaw set.

The gym owner told us not to worry, Paddy was well known in the area.

During filming, all I kept thinking about was Paddy. I was hoping he would still be outside when we finished as I really wanted to take his portrait. In my head I was going through all the different ways of how to approach him. There was just something about him I was really curious to find out.

As we went back into the car park, Paddy was there, still circling. I approached him. His first question was wether we were the police. I reassured him we were definitely not the police and just a film crew. I asked him if I could take his portrait. He agreed. I got him to stand against a wall and he turned on different poses. Loving the attention.

I noticed his fists were cut and bleeding from fight wounds. He told me he was known as the ‘local shithead’. He had been shot at, knifed, beaten, had been set on and mauled by pit bulls, he was involved with the local drug dealers and gangs. He was definitely unique.

I did take some wide shots, but they took away from the real story of his life that was etched deep in the lines of his face. A lifetime of battles and traumas that had carved his features and expression.

As he leaned against the wall, a shard of light broke through the thick grey clouds and I used it as my key light on his face.

A few months after these photos were taken, I was told Paddy had died. I wasn’t told how. I was asked if they could use these portraits for his remembrance.

I love this triptych. The slight shifts in angle and light reveal new fragments. Each frame stands alone, but together they echo an imprint of Paddy that will live on far beyond that grey Dublin afternoon.”