After seeing every episode twice2006
This image is typical of Martin Smith’s practice in that it shows a mundane scene with a personal story incorporated into the image. In this case Smith has cut letters out of the image by hand and the cut-out letters have been left scattered at the base of the frame. The story recalls Smith’s experiences as a young school boy rising early each morning at 5am, initially to watch the television series Thunderbirds. After seeing every episode twice, he started going for morning walks, often stopping at the news agency to steal a soft-porn magazine. One morning the newsagent caught him and punched him before dobbing him in to his father.
As is typical of Smith’s practice, there is no obvious relationship between the text and the image. This is a deliberate attempt to combine two discrete methods of storytelling – image and text – while also emphasising the way memories of an event are usually different from the original experience. By cutting letters out of the photograph, Smith complicates the viewer’s ability to believe in either the text or the image, and opens up a space that encourages new interpretations.
(2015)
Chromogenic prints are printed on paper that has at least three emulsion layers containing invisible dyes and silver salts. Each emulsion layer is sensitive to a different primary colour of light (red, green or blue). The development process converts the hidden dyes to visible colour depending on the amount of light it was exposed to. This type of paper is commonly used to print from colour negatives or digital files to produce a full-colour image. It can also be used to print black-and-white images, giving softer grain and less contrast than gelatin silver prints. Commonly known as c-type prints, chromogenic processing was developed in the 1940s and widely used for colour printing, including for domestic snapshots. While recent years have seen this process accompanied by ink-jet and digital printing technologies, chromogenic printing still remains in use to this day.
