John O'Reilly American, 1930-2021

John O’Reilly constructs intimate and beautiful photographic montages. Using a Polaroid camera, he photographs scenes set up in his studio, his own body, or familiar surroundings. He also rephotographs images from magazines, history books, gay porn, and other sources. He then cuts and pastes these various images into collages in which figures and objects morph into each other amidst fragmented backgrounds. These images are put together with the same sort of psychological glue as our dreams. History and fantasy intertwine and become indistinguishable. The past, present and future co-exist. Unlikely juxtapositions are inexplicably logical and uncannily apt.