Photographer Brian Newman's new book Association presents a long-term study of Orange Order Lodges across Ireland’s border counties - view a gallery of images from Association above.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland is a Protestant fraternity founded in 1795. It is pledged to uphold and propagate the Protestant Christian faith within a broader, increasingly secular and diverse European island. Association considers the remoteness and isolation of border Lodges where diminishing numbers of Lodge members secure the fraternity’s ageing meeting places.
With Association, Newman focuses on the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland as an institution that exists within the divide of Irish and British identities. These sensitive images show an organisation that is in some ways deeply embedded in local communities and in others increasingly isolated, a sense of which is conveyed by the spaces within the Lodges themselves.
Newman has built relationships for over a decade with his subject, and this is reflected in the access he has been given to individual Lodges and their members. The result is a fascinating portrait of the Orange Order that seeks to go beyond stereotypical representations to reveal a more nuanced and considered perspective.
Association is published by Photo Museum Ireland - find out more here.
