How would you describe your artwork?
It’s travel photography that focuses on a sense of time and place. It celebrates the huge diversity of people and locations in our world and hopefully ignites a little spark of curiosity in people. Maybe it will encourage them to discover something about another culture.
When did you first fall in love with art?
I really just fell in love with travel. I’m a naturally curious person, always looking to learn something new, and photography is my way of preserving that and sharing it with others. I also love how art gives us the opportunity to leave positive legacies. It’s something that will be around and able to reach people long after we are.
Is there anything special about your studio?
My studio is basically a home office with a desk and computer, but I do like to surround myself with things that inspire me: books of photographers that I admire, a collection of old cameras handed down by my grandfather.
What does a typical day in the studio involve?
There really isn’t any such thing as a typical day. Shooting days are always on the road, but if I’m at home, I could be writing a story to accompany a photo series, editing images, talking to clients or researching the next project.
Where do you find inspiration?
I love telling new stories of unexplored places or finding new ways of understanding well-known locations, usually through the eyes of the people that live there. I call these ‘little stories’. I also watch a lot of documentaries, so I’ll often see something and want to know more about it.
What are you currently working on?
Lots! I’m putting finishing touches on a photo story on Hawaii, test printing some new series for release and in planning for upcoming stories in New Zealand and Japan. I’m also working on what I hope will be the first release of a regular printed zine that’s due later this year.
You mentioned that you’ve recently opened your print studio. Do you have any works that you’re particularly proud of?
My current print release is Havana St, Havana. It’s a limited edition, black and white series that looks at life in the city today and how it continues to be influenced by a rocky past as well as its music. I always like to offer something as a thank you to buyers, so each order comes with an eBook that includes the full story and extra images.
What is your dream artistic project?
It would be a book focused on vanishing peoples and cultures. I’d love to be able to document them and do my small part in helping to preserve them.
Above: Artist Mark Eden. Courtesy: the artist.
Mark Eden, Havana St, Havana, Cuba, 2018. Archival print on Hahnemühle Bamboo paper, dimensions vary.
Mark Eden, Taj Dusk, Agra, India, 2015.
Archival print on Hahnemühle Bamboo paper, dimensions vary.
