Shock absorber

In 2007, Connolly traveled around the world and took 32,728 pictures of people staring at him. Fifteen of his photos are on display in the Kennedy Center’s Hall of States, Washington DC. He calls it “The Rolling Exhibition.”

Rich, poor, young and old all stare at Connolly in photos from 15 countries. In Romania, a man in religious garb chats on a cellphone and looks at Connolly with a confused expression. In the Czech Republic, two castle guards in light blue uniforms march at attention, looking straight ahead. Connolly’s camera catches a third guard’s eyes glance downward at him.

To make people feel comfortable staring at him, Connolly held the camera near his hip and looked in the opposite direction. That way, people wouldn’t fear getting caught. Because he was unable to use the camera’s viewfinder, he memorized how to frame shots from his street-level perspective. He shot most of the photos while in motion; thus, “The Rolling Exhibition.”

The real story: doctors told him it’s a “sporadic birth defect,” which Connolly interprets as they have no idea why he was born without legs.

“My parents made the decision to not put me in a wheelchair or a hospital,” he says. “They just took me home.” He wears what he calls a “boot” on the bottom of his torso, which keeps his posture straight and protects him from the ground, like a shoe.

Connolly traveled alone for half of his three months abroad. The only snag was when he got hit by a car in Bosnia. He fell off his board and bruised his ribs.

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