Photo Book Works

Kelly O'Brien
Alexandria, VA

In Case of Panic

This artist book documents my response to thwart a panic attack while driving alone over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Instead of my habitual response (pretending it wasn’t happening or white-knuckling my way over the bridge), I chose to get closer to the fear by really looking at what was so terrifying. The images in the book are those I shot while driving over the bridge. It worked—the panic attack never manifested and instead I learned a valuable lesson about how to deal with fear.

Post and screw binding. Archival digital pigment prints Binder’s board on Arches 88. 4.5 x 7 x .25 inches. 2009. Edition of 15.

To purchase, please contact Laura at 23 Sandy Gallery.

Artist Biography

Kelly O’Brien lives in the DC Metro area where she splits her time between the book arts and her day job. She is a juried studio artist at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA and a member of Printmakers Inc.

Kelly tells us, "My current work is personal, with an interest in exploring things that have remained unspoken, secret or denied. The book arts as medium offers abundant opportunities to experiment with tactics to reveal some secrets and keep others. Betsy Davids offers advice for working with personal work, encouraging book artists to create structures that can accommodate what can’t yet be said alongside what one has to say. Inspired by Davids’ lead, I challenge myself—and by extension anyone who interacts with my work—to risk saying what we most deeply want to say, while respecting the need for privacy when it matters. Journey, choices, recovery, redemption and forgiveness are current themes. Layers, translucency, boxes, hidden compartments, storytelling, images, and staged revelation are my current forms of expression."