Marc Provins

I've been trying to write something to accompany these pictures for a week or two but nothing seemed to sum up what I was thinking and feeling very clearly until yesterday when we went to London for the day. We'd managed to procure some free tickets to the sold out David Bowie is exhibition at the V&A which needed using by the end of this week and this was the only way we could do it. The exhibition is the V&A's most successful show ever which in itself is thought provoking considering it has existed since 1852. When it's run finishes in August it will start a tour of the world, which along with the publication will feed an apparently insatiable demand for all things Bowie. A friend who works at the V&A said her colleagues had been joking that they will probably be dealing with this show for the rest of their careers. I really enjoyed the exhibition, which is an immersive experience with a headphone soundtrack, videos, artefact...

I got to spend my birthday in a static caravan between Arnside and Silverdale this weekend. If you're not familiar with this neck of the woods, I'd recommend investigating. It's also described as South Lakes, Arnside being in Cumbria and Silverdale in Lancashire, even though you can walk between them. The whole area is absolutely beautiful, nestled on the coastline of Morecambe Bay and without the hoards of tourists that often frequent the Lake District proper. Some special friends have a static caravan in the family and they are kind enough to share their good fortune with us, so this is the third birthday I've enjoyed there. Ironic really as birthdays are about celebrating time passing and the inevitability of change, whereas 'static' suggests quite the opposite.

We've just had a wonderful holiday thanks to our good friends. They invited us to join them during the second week of their break in Cornwall, staying in an idyllic spot near the sea. I'm not going to compromise anyone's privacy by putting our holiday pictures on my blog but I have got some photographs and thoughts I'd like to share.  We flew from Liverpool which was pretty amazing as it's 40 minutes in the air instead of 8 hours on the road. During the flight back I was thinking about how valuable holidays are, and even our five days away from our usual lives seems to have done much for our well being. Spending time with old friends you laugh about shared experiences, things you all remember that bond you together. You are at the same time living in the moment, experiencing the heat of the sun, the bite of the sea, laughing, making new memories. The other thing that happened with us is a collective thinking about the future, discussing and assess...

I take so many photographs that I seem to be developing my own image stock library. It's often a surprise when I see themes emerge without me deliberately seeking them out. This is one such set which I was going to call 'Roar' but I don't think sharks do that. Strangely I've had quite a few dreams/ nightmares about being chased recently, I wonder if there is a connection?

I really like the pop art nature of this scene, brightly coloured consumer goods lined up on shelves. It's the characters that have fallen over that make it for me, breaking the symmetry and looking bedraggled. The fridge lights create a little studio so everyone is nicely illuminated. Ironically I'm writing this from the shade of my workroom having over indulged in all the amazing weather and given myself heat stroke. Stay cool out there.

A photograph taken in 2013 of a mural of a painter who visited this city (Arles, France) in 1888 for a year and then died a starving artist aged 37. I think that says a lot about being human, how we remember, record history, value creativity and memorialise.  Keeping it short and sweet today.

I do seem to photograph cars quite often, which is ironic as I'm pretty anti the way this country is so road orientated, like America. Our European neighbours have had the good sense to invest in public transport and build cycle paths separated from the traffic. I cycle to work at this time of year and most of the trip can be done on the canal towpath, with just some road bits at either end. Nearly everyday I experience some kind of alarming behaviour by drivers, apparently oblivious to the danger they put others in. This morning a man in an over-sized four-by-four screeched around the corner of a quiet residential street, accelerating towards me looking furious for some unknown reason. If I hadn't quickly turned out of the way, I can only assume he would have happily run me over. I think my childhood has a lot to do with me being drawn to photographing cars. My dad was a mechanic, working from home, so our driveway was always filled wi...

I thought I'd use my blog to document the recent 'Spreads' exhibition that I was invited to participate in. If you follow my posts you'll be aware that it was taking place in Arles, France for one week only, running alongside Les Rencontres d'Arles, the huge photography festival. The exhibition went under the collective title of Roast Beef and was curated by Ed Watts and Mark Page. The work was shown in a small improvised gallery just off one of the main squares, right next to the Van Gogh cafe, a tourist photography hotspot, which seemed strangely appropriate.  The concept for the exhibition was that each photographer contributed one A3 print of their work and some form of book, hence the title Spreads. This was a really neat way of showing bodies of work from ten artists in a very small space, and meant that Ed was able to transport the work on an aeroplane from Manchester, literally in a suitcase.  Personally I thought the exhibition was very special and...

Some more photographs from Arles, I seem to have inadvertently tuned into legs. I'm always curious to see what themes or motifs appear from my subconscious when I'm making observational work. I'm happy to be home, especially as the sun is out, but I still have all the sights and experiences of Arles racing around my head. I probably visited more than ten photography exhibitions a day and so I'm still making sense of all of that visual information. The one exhibition that has really stuck was the Viviane Sassen show which I loved, a sophisticated blend of art and fashion with a beautifully original aesthetic. Right next door was one of the Hiroshi Sugimoto shows, there was another one across town and we also went to see him make a presentation at one of the evening screenings. This was really spectacular, a huge projection of his work in the open air arena against the night sky watched by hundreds of people. His work is poetic, simple and stripp...

Just back from Arles, where I had some work in the group show Spreads by Roast Beef, see my previous blog entry for more info: Spreads Whilst there I was also hit by the creative juggernaut that is Les Recontres d'Arles photography festival. It has been the most amazing 5 days, looking at photographs, talking about photographs and making photographs. I'll write more soon about the festival when I've got my bearings but wanted to add some pictures for starters. So here is a set of eight images I felt worked together.