Kirby, Martin

I think that it all started with a first prize win in year six with ‘Fireworks at Night’, in crayon. I went on to study Design Ceramics at the Medway College of Design, and a completed a History degree with the OU. I spent some time in the creative industries, and then taught a number of subjects across the UK, in Libya, Kazakhstan and then again in Libya. It was during that year in Libya that I was diagnosed with stage four bowl cancer.

Encouraged in a new direction, I returned to both my love of the built environment and the camera. I have always had an obsession with architecture and Architectural Design, being fascinated by the spaces in the constructed world we make for ourselves, and how we interact and engage with the shapes, textures and forms that design and purpose presents us with.

It is the combination of decay, renewal, and function, that blend of aspects and views that often go unconsidered or unseen, or transformed with Street Art, that I try to capture and document.

My first exhibition was at ‘The Street Gallery’ on the Tottenham Court Road, London, and I have exhibited at a number of galleries and art events since. I am at the New Artist Fair at The Truman Brewery, Ely’s Yard, E1 6QR, from the 27th to 29th September.

This year I submitted two pieces of work for consideration by the Royal Academy of Art. Both works were shortlisted, and have subsequently been accepted for the RA Summer Exhibition 2024.

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Instagram: @picturethisbymkuk