Martin MARTIN

Bio

Photogravure etching

 

Narrative is everything

As symbolising animals we try, often in desperation, to seek meaning and purpose.  

There is always a reason, a history, a consequence, a tale…

In my own art practice, landscape becomes a metaphor for the human condition.

For example, as part of a series entitled “Departure’, my image is of cliffs overlooking the sea.  One cannot see beyond them; they are shrouded in mist.  The full title of the piece, with its suggestive first line, tells of the tragedy behind, of an uncertain present and unknown future.  

“Lie with me.

Lie to me and say

You’re still with me now,

Not gone away”

              Prague, 2017

In the west, we read from left to right. Moving from right to left seems unsettling, unnatural. Often, it gives rise to a sense of foreboding. This early morning shot of the ferry at Dartmouth seems laden with disquiet. More so, given its title, “Crossing the River Styx”

The ferryman, Charon, delivering souls to the underworld of the ancient Greeks.

Finally, another from the same series, which on three levels has great resonance for me, “Leaving St Kilda” 

First, and spookily, this image was taken from exactly the same place as a plein-air watercolour painting by an old friend of mine, now dead, which hangs on a wall at home.

Secondly, it marks the end of a short era of three continuous years, when I used to spend time on this remote island. 

Finally, and less personally, it references the time in 1930, when the remaining 36 islanders were taken off and delivered to the Scottish mainland. Quite simply, and sadly, life on St Kilda had become increasingly unsustainable as the population has declined from around 200 to the final three dozen. There is sound archaeological evidence that this small archipelago in the north Atlantic, some 100 miles from the mainland, had been continuously inhabited for 3,500 years. One indicator being that the St Kilda house mouse, a distinct sub-species, became extinct following the departure in 1930.