Mark Fernyhough is an internationally published visual artist & musician based between London & Berlin. His work combines photography with music, performance art, graphic design & sequential disciplines. Always busy, he is currently working with dancers and artists as models to boost the creativity and has just released his single “Berlin” as well.
KALTBLUT: You’ve created content for some of the world’s most iconic magazines, so why in many cases do you choose to work with contemporary dancers over fashion models?
Mark: I work with some fantastic models with a background in fashion and have recently been working with the RM Berlin model agency. However, collaborating with contemporary dancers or actresses is also splendid as they are obsessively focused on the art of creativity and excel at the performance elements of my shoots.
KALTBLUT: Which artistic processes do you employ to produce your images?
Mark: My shoots resemble studio based performance art scenes which become the subject of my images. I’ve documented opera, theatre and ballet, so shooting models looking bored against a wall in nice clothes would be anti climatic. I set out a narrative framework my subjects can improvise within.
KALTBLUT: You additionally transform still life poses to create sequential pieces of art through use of collage, how did you come to do this?
Mark: I’ve always been inspired by illustrators and sequential artists. When a model’s pose is static, through focusing on different angles, shapes & body architecture, a visual narrative is created. I find that a fascinating contradiction. I’ve created pop art imagery published by Image Comics in America inspired by the work of artist Shaky Kane for example. I like to merge the disciplines of illustration and photography.
KALTBLUT: You have also garnered much recognition and radio play for your songs, opening for Suede, joining Rufus Wainwright and David Bowie’s guitarist onstage, and releasing your first single ‘Berlin’ this year. Does your music comfortably co-exist alongside your visual art?
Mark: Yes very healthily so. My songs are extremely personal to me, so having the chance to focus on subjects outside myself with the photography is a positive thing. I design the artwork for my musical releases and work on the videos to accompany them, so it’s a harmonious relationship between sound and vision. An EP of my music will shortly be released featuring two songs Brett Anderson named amongst his favourite on the Suede website recently. I’m tremendously excited by the future of music and art.
Interview by Amanda M. Jansson
