Bryan Martello (b. 1988) grew up in Franklin, Massachusetts. Inspired by the dark and unresolved, he uses multiple photographic images to create open-ended narratives. Martello graduated from Massachusetts College of Art with a degree in Photography in 2010, where he earned departmental honors. His recent work as a tour guide in the lava caves of Iceland has served as a backdrop for much of his recent work. Martello lives and works in Boston.
Throughout my whole life, stories that are cryptic and dark have fascinated me. When I was young, I found myself drawn to fairytales and mythology which led me creating my own fables. As I grew older, I became interested in films, particularly in the horror genre. The ones that stood out most for me were those that left much unresolved; nothing seemed scarier than the unknown. I was deeply inspired by the idea that a series of images could have such a profound elemental effect on a person. This visceral, visually induced fear of the unknown has stayed with me and guided me through the process of telling my own stories through photography.
Making multiple image pieces is integral to my work. I see the individual images as fragments of my subconscious and the installation is an opportunity to put these fragments back together in a new context. Photographing with a 4×5 view camera allows me to see details of objects as abstract forms, helping me make visual connections between images. Through this process, I am able to create subtle and openended narratives and activate a tension in a particular space. Simple emotions are magnified, the concrete becomes inexplicable, the mundane appears magical. Everything is implied, nothing is clearly resolved.
For more work, visit his website.