Drawn to Fire

What the work means to me…

“Camping out, experiencing creative freedom, capturing an ancient light; allowing energy, ideas, materials and processes to intertwine and flow through time…” Artist Kenny Martin

Drawn to Fire is an ongoing photography project that connects many of my passions. My love of nature, photography and camping out.

Working to create a temporary sensory space where I can reconnect and feel at one with nature. I would directly experience and try to capture what I call an “ancient light”; starlight, moonlight, campfire light within my photography.

Each work is a unique record of a performance around a campfire in a remote location; exploring the mark-making potential of firelight in the darkness, the elements and the senses.

The work is often intuitive, exploring the notion of an artistic and meditative focal point. Using fire as paint I create light scapes on a scale defined by the location and the scope of the camera lens. Working wide angle often feels like painting on an infinite canvas. In fact the work is an extension of my earlier mop paintings where I was concerned with the potential of working large scale.

Within each location fire – “the human signature” was celebrated amongst a greater spectrum of available, often natural light.

My camping and bushcraft skills would allow me the creative freedom to camp out on the land; to dwell within the woods and immerse myself in the location.

I would often stay awake all night when I made this work; waiting for the light to sit just right. Committed to spending the night come-what-may would often allow a letting go of time; a feeling of disorientation – just me amongst the nature with a small campfire; listening deeply, senses alert.

I recall one time in Rockingham Forest there was suddenly a lot of noise, something was coming my way along the ground amongst the leaf litter.

My imagination running riot, I stood up with my back toward the fire for protection. Shortly two large badgers visited my campsite coming to check me out! Experiences like that are priceless and I will forever be grateful to those curious badgers.

I hope you enjoy the work.

Kenny Martin