'Hide That Can' highlights in a genuinely moving way the politics of displacement and poverty. The book is a photographic portrait of a group of Irish migrant labourers, now hostel dwellers in London, who were deprived at the end of their working life of the opportunity to return to their homeland. The Foreword states, 'These faces are a kind of history lesson' to us all.
This beautifully and intelligently-crafted book is such a tribute to Arlington House hostel and its residents. The sumptuous colour photographs and text reveal sufficient detail to break your heart. Deirdre O'Callaghan's creativity, her 'seeing eye', and her very special empathy with her subjects, are what documentary photography at its best is all about. At the end of her long-term involvement with these men, she has produced (with their collaboration) a very human book, with a heartbeat that is evident throughout.
The book's production also is exquisite. If you are a collector of fine books, and want a modern masterpiece, this is it. If you love photography, if you love humanity, then buy this book. It is the very finest book I have purchased all year, and I recommend it unreservedly.
M. Paterson Peralta.