Better Out Than In

DublOUT is a stunning new photography exhibition by Dean O’Sullivan seeking to connect the LGBTQ+ community through our shared experiences. Dean kindly shared a taster of what to expect and explained why this was a project that needed to be made.

“You’re not wrong to be who you are. As soon as you stop for yourself, it’s going to be amazing.”

“I like being me now, I didn’t know that when I was 35 or 40 that I would like being me.”

Growing up queer is never something you can easily describe. It’s a mix of so many feelings; loneliness, nervousness, isolation, but also this amazing feeling of love and home. It’s a strange timeline growing up queer, it’s so vastly different it’s somewhat beautiful.

For most, we grow up very confused and not really knowing why we feel the way we do. But as soon as that feeling of home is felt from one person, a group of people, a TV character, or even seeing someone on a bus, that feeling never goes away. This is the feeling that makes it all worth it. It’s the conversations we have, the drinks we share together or the advice we give each other.

DublOUT is a photography exhibition aimed at showing just how many people from all walks of life, ages, genders and sexualities walk the same streets of Dublin. We are all going about our daily business in different parts of the county with one main thing uniting us all - our unique queerness. The goal for this exhibition is that someone who has yet to come out, or someone who has been out all their life but doesn’t really feel seen, can walk up to a photo and a quote and finally say - “There I am” - and see themselves in someone else’s story and feel like a part of this amazing queer community.

“When I finally came out, it felt like meeting myself for the first time.”

Throughout this project I sat down with each contributor and had a lovely chat about their experiences growing up queer and what it’s like for them now. Through doing this, I also learned a lot about myself and my queer identity. Being who I am is the biggest achievement of my life. Being true to myself and not letting anyone push me off my path only makes me stronger. I have learned so much about other people’s perspectives on life and what it means to them to be queer. I have learned that no matter what you have going on in your life, there is always going to be someone out there to sit with you to talk it through and to be there to support you.

We all come from very different backgrounds and all walk very different paths. We all have very different sad parts of our lives and very different exciting parts. But one thing that is the same is the fact that we are all here living in the same county, in the same country, or in the same world and that is a beautiful thing.

This project has been almost a year in the making and I couldn’t be more proud of what I have to show for it. I need to thank my family and friends for the constant support they give me, my boyfriend for helping push me throughout this project, for Dublin Pride for hosting my exhibition and helping me get it off the ground, Sean Kennedy for helping put all my crazy thoughts into stunning graphics, and especially thank all my contributors for not only giving me their time but for also giving me parts of their story to share.

The DublOUT exhibition launches June 3 in Dublin Pride Hub, 44 Clarendon Street, Dublin, and will run until the end of Pride season.

Feature Exhibition -Connections -DublOUT