Lot 165: ALASTAIR THAIN

Marine 1
Engraved signature on the reverse of the frame. Accompanied by a signed Certificate of Authenticity.

300 x 200 cm. (118 1/8 x 78 3/4 in).

Unique colour coupler print, printed 2006.

2005

Alastair Thain: Rapture, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany, 4 June – 13 November 2005 (another example exhibited); How We Are: Photographing Britain, Tate Britain, London, 22 May – 2 September 2007

Acquired directly from the artist

When Alistair Thain’s marine photographs were exhibited in 2005 in Rapture, a retrospective of his photographic portraits, at the Kunsthalle in Mannheim, Germany, they each stood at the height of a two-storey house. Exhibiting alongside Martin Parr and Jeff Wall, Thain's work included twenty large format photographs representing the creative breadth of his work. Throughout his career Thain has been an innovator, challenging photographic convention, experimenting and utilising technological advances to fulfill his vision. To achieve these vast scale photographs with such intimacy and clarity, Thain for the last fifteen years has made his own cameras. In his most recent work including the marine portraits, Thain built a camera using the same format camera equipment that the NASA space shuttle use to photograph Earth. Thain’s intimate portraits, force us to confront the subject and engage in an imaginary dialogue, questioning our own existence and uniqueness.
 
The portraits look as if they were taken in a studio, but in fact Thain photographed the cadets outside, taking them aside the second they came off a forced march. "You had to be quick: they are so fit, their heart rate returns to normal after 15 to 30 seconds. I wanted to capture these nice young guys at a moment of extreme physical stress." 
Melissa Denes, ‘Blow-up’, The Guardian, 7 January 2006.