Mark Power talk at Walsall College

Mark gave a talk to HND photography students from both Sandwell and Walsall College on 19 January, 2012.  Multistory has been working with tutors at both colleges throughout the course of the Black Country Stories project with previous sessions delivered by Martin Parr.  Working with the lecturers Phil Brooks, Ian Male, David Waldron and Lyndon Bayliss, we decided to make the most of the opportunity of having a second Magnum photographer working with Multistory and so Mark will contribute a project brief for these HND students to respond to.  The brief will be disseminated shortly but on 19 January, students had the chance to hear Mark talk about his career of the last 30 years and how he got started.  

Mark shared his pivotal moment story of deciding to quit photography in the face of debt and personal doubt and opt for a carpentry course. Then a faithful supporter of his work gave him an incentive to stick with photography which allowed him to buy a ticket to Berlin in 1989.  What unravelled was a fantastic tale of good timing as Mark passed by Checkpoint Charlie intrigued by a huge crowd frenzied by what was about to be a major historical event... the fall of the Berlin Wall.  Being only one of three British photographers there, he was able to make the most of this unique event, and amazing good timing, and publish his photos in major UK newspapers giving him the sustenance to carry on making work as a creative practitioner.  

Describing himself as a street/documentary photographer, Mark works internationally and has initiated his own projects such as 'The Shipping Forecast' and 'The Sound of Two Songs' as well as received several major commissions, see his website for details.

Mark was selected to be a full member of Magnum in 2007 (info here).

All photos here from the talk in Walsall are courtesy of Ian Fletcher (Photo-Imaging lecturer, Sandwell College).  Many thanks