Graham Martin | Binsey Walk

Artist Statement

Scottish artist Graham Martin looks at architecture and the manufactured, artificial environment that surrounds us. The source of inspiration for his work lies in the quietly ageing estates and urban developments occupying forgotten spaces on the fringes of the city. In particular, his recent work, including ‘No Ball Games’ and ‘Binsey Walk’, is centred on iconic examples of British post-war housing. It responds to the scale of the developments, as well as notions of the sublime.

A close observation of Graham’s work reveals an engagement with the effects of neglect, erosion, and decay that have weakened vast structures over time. His work therefore references the ephemeral nature of the urban landscape. It provides a space for reflection on the way society experiences the city and its architecture, not as an integral part of our life, but as a temporary, disposable product. Graham’s paintings also emphasise the utopian ideas that shaped the original social and architectural concepts for the developments alongside the themes of transience, isolation, and decline associated with them today. In this thematic context, ‘No Ball Games’ and ‘Binsey Walk’ comprise part of a series of paintings, drawings, and prints responding to the once futuristic concrete tower blocks, low-rise maisonettes, and elevated walkways of the Thamesmead estate in southeast London, contextualised by the recently approved plans for a £1 billion regeneration of the area.