Mark Aitken's practice utilises empathetic listening and silence through a framework of documentary encounters. He challenges and extends temporal and epistemological boundaries through memory being defined by emotional truths and ineffable experiences.

 

As an artist and academic, Mark works with mixed- media to produce documentary art works. These include film, photography, writing, sound works, installations and radio. Collaborating with people to produce emotionally resonant outcomes, Mark's practice spans over 20 years and is unified yet diverse - at home in galleries, cinemas, site-specific installations, television and radio. Born in New Zealand and raised in South Africa, he has lived in London for many years and presently works between there, Helsinki and Namibia.

 

Currently supported by the Niilo Helander Foundation in Finland to redefine a Namibian/Finnish Photo Archive through new works, Mark is also affiliated to the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies while producing a mixed-media series, Presence of Absence in Finnish Sápmi. Outputs include films, photographs, paintings, books and site-specific installations.

 

Mark’s award-winning films include Dead when I got here (2015) about a Mexican psychiatric hospital run by its own patients; Forest of Crocodiles (2010) about a fearful white South African rural community; Until when you die (2007) tracing a Vietnamese refugee’s journey home and This was Forever (2007) about the loss of a community allotment in London. Mark has also facilitated over fifty films with students.

 

Mark’s photo installation Sanctum Ephemeral and book about a community losing their homes won the UK National Open Art 2017, Portrait of Britain 2017 and was published in national press, magazines and exhibited in group shows in London, Glasgow and a solo show in Catalonia.

 

Teaching since 1990, Mark currently lectures photography, film and scriptwriting at Central St Martins, London. He was awarded his doctorate, Emotional truths in documentary making from Goldsmiths in 2019. Mark produced radio on London’s Resonance fm for 15 years and at Dublab, Barcelona for 3 years.