Mark Power – Portfolio Review Mark Power

About your reviewer

Mark Power’s complex, meticulously crafted images usually made with a large-format camera have earned him a reputation as one of the forerunners of British photography. Known for his seminal work exploring the far-flung locations esoterically described in the BBC’s iconic Shipping Forecast, Power has adeptly expressed the peculiarities of social culture in places as varied as Britain, Poland and America.His latest project, Good Morning America (which began in 2012 and is ongoing), reflects the current state of the nation while at the same time responding to memories of the cultural imperialism which crossed the Atlantic during his childhood in the British suburbs, in the form of music, film and, in particular, television. “I keep a physical and metaphorical distance between myself and the subject,” Power has said of his process, “yet I remain deeply connected. One might call it an intimate distance.” Another significant project where he again took on the role of a foreign observer, was The Sound of Two Songs (2004-2009), a five-year investigation into the impact of European Union membership on Poland.