Bio
Tynan Byrne (b.1992) is a visual artist living in Somerville, Massachusetts. His practice predominantly incorporates photography into book arts, collages, and 3D works that push the confines of the traditionally rendered photograph. Much of his work centers around themes of romance and affection between men, prominently featuring those of he and his partner as they navigate their life together. Byrne’s output is also impacted by a studied appreciation for queer history and literature; he often adds elements of magical realism to his black and white, color, and Polaroid-based imagery.
He holds an MFA in Visual Arts from Lesley University College of Art and Design, and has most recently exhibited at The Somerville Museum (Somerville, MA), Jameson and Thompson Gallery (Jamaica Plain, MA), Golden Thread Gallery (Belfast, Ireland), Anderson-Yezerski Gallery (Boston, MA), Gravedigger’s Daughter (Waldoboro, ME), ViewPoint Gallery (Nova Scotia, CAN), Tammy Cromer Gallery (Dallas, TX), and a number of other galleries, pop-ups, and online exhibitions over the past decade. He is the recipient of the 2026 Adjective Production Prize, and currently works at the University of Massachusetts Boston as the Instructional Media Technologist in the Art Department.
Artist Statement
The work I make inevitably resolves to a meditation on romance through photography—how it is found in my life and the many iterations it can take. The male body acts as the central force of gravity in my practice; the densest point of fixation throughout my work against which all other references are derived or lead, and is an object of unrelenting beauty and strangeness for me. Examining intimacy and privacy are crucial themes I employ when documenting the scenes I discover or compose. These themes also heavily impact the end product which often results in the form of a book, zine, or some other smaller form of media an individual can privately peruse.
As I continue photographing and getting older, my interests hone in on the domestic and personal alongside my partner. I document examples of the subtlety and nuances our relationship takes on, how it evolves and how we can format it to align or deviate from our own expectations of success. Not having grown up with any gay role models to base this period of our lives upon, it has been incredibly tumultuous to navigate how we can continue to grow as individuals while still finding fulfillment and contentment. This has led me to examine the facets of intimacy in my own gay community, reflections of affection and allure I hold for my partner now translated onto the bodies of other men—locating my own romantic self in the experiences we share with others. Fighting implicit taboos and shame around what we learned a happy life together can look like fuels my search for the limitations themselves, and in doing so I photograph the sexual and domestic as one.
Contact
tynanjbphotography [at] gmail [dot] com