Photography Film Video
Alexandria Martin
Alexandria Martin’s practice revolves around an exploration of memory, specifically the memory that surrounds family, through processes such as analogue photography, filmmaking and sound recording. Her current work, a project entitled Let Sleeping Dogs Lie was motivated by a fear of her family members dying as a result of Covid-19, especially her grandparents, who she sees as the archive-holders of the family. As she tried to prepare herself for the grief that she was sure was to come, she combed through family photographs, videos and cassette recordings that they had made. Through this research Alexandria also became obsessed with the story of her great-great-grandfather, who became a source of wisdom in dealing with death. Gran, as he was called, had a two-year-old son named Thomas, who drowned in the river in front of their house. This story became an important part of this project as she tried to understand how this man could deal with this much grief and yet still be the happiest member of the family. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie comes together as as a combination of many mediums including images taken by Alexandria and found family photographs, a video piece shot on Super 8 film that delves into the story of Thomas and a collection of cassette tape pieces.