Accident at the junction of Farringdon Road and Clerkenwell Road, 1962

Photographed from the living room window of the photographer's flat at Victoria Dwellings, where he lived with his parents, is this extraordinary bird's eye view of a street accident. Such accidents were an unfortunate recurring consequence of a fault with the junction's traffic lights. Armed with his box Brownie camera, O'Brien recorded the scenes with a marked beauty, revealing the multiple components on the ground of the situation, from onlookers to the vehicles involved. O'Brien acknowledges the nostalic aspect of his pictures and believes that the commonplace is the most important thing to record.