Andrew O’Connor

The Storybook Occult

Andrew O’Connor’s The Storybook Occut is a multimedia exhibit based on his experiences with religion and understanding of self in a dystopian feeling world. To express this, the project consists of 2 printed inkjet photos each for 4 constructed mannequins with their own outfits. Each mannequins’ stance is informed by a pose in one of the 2 photos. An overhead tent blocks out outside light, while floor lights illuminate the hanging photos. This allows the viewer to physically inspect the reflective elements focused on in the photos, on the physical clothes, with available blacklights.

O’Connor always wanted to create his own reality with characters representing different stages of his life. In The Storybook Occult we’re able to take a deep dive into what he encountered by using his knowledge of folklore and utilitarian fantasy. Each character has their own outfit that represents themselves and the setting of which scene they inhabit. Throughout the story, each of them is developed along with their battles through different variations of struggle in each narrative. We see the depiction of an industrial worker at a nuclear plant, a military soldier fighting for a rag-tag military group, a cultish leader known as The Grand Seer leading others to survive in a destroyed world, and finally his full transformation into something inhuman. Multiple transformations are being done by going through phases of violence that cause this character to undergo extreme change in order to overcome what he had to endure. In the end, The Grand Seer’s changes physically and mentally mirror his inner representation of faith and perseverance in his own world.

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Utilitarian fantasy is how I would describe the world of The Seer. Everything has a purpose. Prints are made on etching rag not only for aesthetic purposes but for ease of storage and care. Any delicate fabrics don’t serve any structural purpose but serve a motif or ritual purpose. Wooden mannequins are built to present the clothes as poses depicted in the photos, but also present pieces of clothing that aren’t visible in the photos. A black 10-foot by 10-foot muslin tent gives needed shadow to intensify reflective elements, and floor lights allow the printed photos their own sectioned-off balanced light. Anything that can be set up must be doable by hand. The purpose of modularity is to create an easy-to-follow ritual whenever I set up the show.