Untitled 51, (2024) Ed. 1 of 10

Untitled 51, (2024)
Giclée print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag.
25 x 25cm

This photographic work employs a single continuous exposure on film over exactly 168 hours. Tulips were placed in a light-sealed apartment, with all windows, doors, and cracks blacked out to exclude external light. The sole illumination came from brief daily glimpses of sunlight through one window as the sun passed over the building.

The resulting image compresses time into a single frame. The tulips appear as blurred, translucent forms, progressively wilting, drooping, decaying, and desiccating into fragile skeletons.

Conceptually, the work draws a parallel to the isolating cycle of an alcoholic bender. The seven-day near-blackout reflects self-imposed darkness and withdrawal from the world during prolonged drinking, where time distorts, rhythms dissolve, and the body slowly deteriorates. The fleeting daily light intrusions mirror momentary intrusions of reality, yet the accumulated exposure records irreversible decay. Upon completion, both film and artist confront the aftermath, a fragile remnant of former vibrancy, transformed by time and absence.

This work extends the artist's exploration of addiction as escapism from low self-esteem. It highlights how substances provide temporary numbness at the cost of vitality and presence. The tulips transience embodies escape's false allure, initial vividness yielding to permanent loss.

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Alexandra Martin is a painter and photographer living and working on Gadigal land in Sydney, Australia. Her interdisciplinary practice explores addiction as a form of escapism from low self-esteem, probing the fragile boundaries between reality, delusion, and fantasy.

Combining photography and painting, Martin often layers paint over original giclée photographs, presents photographic mono prints, or paints directly as her eye functions as the camera. In this way, a photographic underpinning is always present, though not always visible, mirroring the insidious nature of addiction itself. Her approach interrogates whether photography authentically captures reality or merely constructs illusory fantasies.

Born and raised in south-western Australia, Martin studied art and photography, graduating with a Bachelor of Photography from Griffith University, Queensland College of Art. Her work has been exhibited throughout galleries in Australia and overseas, engaging audiences with its introspective examination of vulnerability and perception.

Martin's works create layers of escape and illusion, reflecting personal struggles with addiction. Her works have now evolved into a profound act of healing, enabling her to process buried emotions, reclaim authenticity, and transform pain into presence.