sussman*spf10*research: Artist Entry: Martin Usborn 11.01.10

MARTIN USBORNE

Martin Usborne's newest series "MUTE: The Silence of Dogs in Cars" explores themes of loneliness, sadness, isolation, and the fear of being left alone.

Martin Usborne is a London-based photographer who specialises in portrait photography. He does work for private commissions, magazines, events and fashion, including children’s fashion. Martin’s work has also been exhibited and sold in a number of photography exhibitions.

Martin Usborne @ VideoJug

~~MARTIN~~ lives in central London where he has his photographic studio.

He started his photographic career after a number of years working as a creative director in children's TV (which included dressing up as a furry white alien). Before that he studied psychology at Edinburgh University and then animation at Glasgow School of Art.

Martin thinks there is something magical about looking through the lens and capturing a bit of the world. 'You see an interesting array of shapes - people passing in front of a strangely coloured wall and -click- its yours forever. Its so easy it shouldn't be allowed'.

When Martin isn't photographing he is either rockclimbing (he is too heavy to pull himself up), meditating (he can't do the full lotus because he has bad knees) or he is writing his novel (he is stuck on chapter 3 - not having finished Ch.s 1 or 2).

"ABOUT Martin Usborne." Martin Usborne. Martin Usborne Photography, n.d. Web. 24 Oct 2010. .

QUOTES:

"I was once left in a car at a young age.

I don't know when or where or for how long, possibly at the age of four, perhaps outside Tesco's, probably for fifteen minutes only. The details don't matter. The point is that I wondered if anyone would come back. It seems trivial now but in a child's mind it is possible to be alone forever." ABOUT THESE IMAGES (MUTE: The Silence of Dogs in Cars)

Around the same age I began to feel a deep affinity with animals – in particular their plight at the hands of humans. I remember watching TV and seeing footage of a dog being put in a plastic bag and being kicked. What appalled me most was that the dog could not speak back. Its muteness terrified me.

"The images in this series explore this fear of being alone and unheard, both in relation to myself and to animals in general.

When I started this project I knew the photos would be dark. What I didn't expect was to see so many subtle reactions by the dogs: some sad, some expectant, some angry, some dejected. It was as if upon opening up a box of coloured pencils I was surprised to see so many shades of grey inside." - Martin Usborne

"Mute Faces: Photo Stories." Foto8. Foto8, 221 October 2010. Web. 24 Oct 2010. .

Award-winning photographer Martin Usborne will present a new solo exhibition, MUTE, at East London gallery theprintspace on Thursday October 21, 2010. The exhibition consists of photographic prints of dogs looking silently out of car windows in the dead of night. While you might think that this is a statement on leaving dogs in hot cars — it’s not. Rather, Martin is exploring the sense of loneliness and isolation that many humans (and animals) experience in modern times. These images are poignant and haunting.

The prints are for sale and 10% of proceeds are donated to the Dogs Trust to help its work rescuing and re-homing stray and abandoned dogs. Martin also has a book on dog photography that will be published next year. He is the owner of Moose, a Miniature Schnauzer.

"MUTE Exhibition by Martin Usborne." Dog Milk. Dog Milk, 09 September 2010. Web. 24 Oct 2010. .

The following are images from MUTE: The Silence of Dogs in Cars